


Monday Meetings

by kikikryslee



Series: The Taylor Times [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Sex, Angst, At least read chapter 26, Blow Jobs, Bottom Louis, Chapter 26 is my favorite, Chapter 35 makes me cry, Cheating, Divorce, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Issues, Jealousy, Just Friends, Long Distance Relationship, M/M, Newspaper Editors, OT5 Friendship, Office Romance, Pining, Riding, Romance, Roommates, Slow Build, Smut, Starts in Chapter 13, Top Harry, but in a good way, just realized that wasn't there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-05 20:12:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 147,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikikryslee/pseuds/kikikryslee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>American AU where the boys all work for their college newspaper. Louis gets to voice his opinion in every issue, Liam is in charge, keeping everyone in line, Niall just really loves soccer, Zayn is an aspiring photographer and Harry is the incoming photo editor.</p><p>(Or, the one where Louis wants to date Harry, but won't, because they work together, even though the other boys follow no such rule.)</p><p>---<br/>Louis turned and looked Harry in the eye. "I told Niall that even though he wanted to date Josh, his co-worker, it just wasn't going to work out. And that was OK, because there's plenty of other people out there for him."<br/><i>Please take the hint. Please.<i></i></i><br/>It looked like Harry did, because he simply nodded before breaking the gaze.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Impression

**Author's Note:**

> *This work is unbeta'ed, so all mistakes are my own!*
> 
>  
> 
> **DO NOT post this story or any of my other stories on any other websites. I'm not comfortable with that, and I hope that you can please respect that. If you see any of my stories on another website, please let me know. I am also NOT currently authorizing translations of any of my stories at this time. I hope you can respect that, as well. Thank you!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my first attempt ever at a fic. It's kind of based on my own experiences as a newspaper editor. So I hope you enjoy it!  
> Even though this story has been finished for months, leave me a comment if you like it! And any other feedback you have for me would be awesome!  
> Thanks!  
> <3

Louis Tomlinson sat in his black swivel chair at the long table in the Taylor University newspaper office. It was just after 4:30 on Monday afternoon, and the meeting had just started. 

This hour was just for the editors; the writers would be arriving at 5:30 to go over this week's issue and sign up for any stories that were still unassigned. 

But this meeting was different. The seating arrangements around the table had been the same since September, when the current group of editors decided where to sit. However, this was the final issue of the newspaper for the school year, and there had been a few changes to the staff.

Liam Payne now sat in the seat that used to be held by Sandy Beales, who was the outgoing executive editor. Meaning, Liam was in charge. He was running the meeting and making sure each editor had his or her section under control. Liam, his roommate for the past two years. Liam, who would be one of his roommates next year along with Niall Horan, the sports editor and Zayn Malik, a new photographer this year.

Ed Sheeran, the outgoing photography editor, used to sit right next to Louis. The two of them would often tune out the majority of the meetings, playing hangman or tic-tac-toe on the outlines of the upcoming issues they would receive when they first walked in the office door. 

But Sandy and Ed were graduating in just a few weeks, so they didn't come to the meeting today in order to give the incoming editors experience at being in charge before next school year, when they would have to do it every single week. 

Louis frowned at the seat next to him, which would now be occupied by the new photography editor, a Harry something. Louis didn't know much about him, other than he was a freshman who had shot quite a lot of pictures for the other sections. As the opinion editor, Louis didn't require photos for the stories in his section, and he usually didn't have any. So while he had never actually met Harry, Ed and Liam seemed to like him a lot, so he guessed Harry couldn't be too bad.

He better play hangman with Louis at the meetings when he got bored, though.

"What do you have for us, Louis?"

Louis snapped out of his daze and looked at Danielle Peazer, the new managing editor: aka the second-in-command. She had moved to the position from the news section, meaning she was also in a new seat.

Liam smirked at him from his seat next to her. It would definitely be interesting to see how the two of them acted together next year, since Liam had the biggest crush on her.

"I'm sorry, Dani," Louis said with a shake of his head. "What?"

"I said, what's going on in the opinion section this week?"

"Right, sorry. Uhh... the editorial idea will be the same as last year's, and the year before that. It's basically a summary of all of our top stories from this past year. I was thinking of writing about the soccer team winning its fifth championship in as many years."

Louis chose to ignore Niall's small whoop from across the table.

"Also, the new expansion to the theater finally being complete, the immense hatred we now have toward snow thanks to this year's brutal snowstorms and the two students picked to study at Oxford University this summer."

He looked at Dr. Higgins, one of Louis' two advisers. He was nodding his head, which was a good sign.

"That's a good list, Louis. I like it, it's got a point of interest for everybody."

"Thank you, sir," Louis responded with a nod of his head.

"Also, if there's room, could we add a little blurb saying good-bye to Sandy and Ed?" asked Dr. Teasdale, Louis' other adviser.

"Definitely, that would be great," Liam contributed.

"Will do," Louis said, marking it on his outline before continuing. 

"And for the rest of the section, we have a cartoon about graduation, a letter to the editor referencing last week's article commending the university on its response to the black out we had on Thursday night, an article about how to avoid slacking off during the summer, and an article from a journalism major about why we shouldn't fear graduating and look forward to all of the opportunities there are for us journalists in the real world."

There was a collective groan from around the table. Louis rolled his eyes at the response. The majority of the editors were journalism majors, with the exception of Danielle, a theater major, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson, the advertising managers who were both business majors, and Josh Devine, the other sports editor who was double majoring in Music and Radio & TV Communications. 

"Alright, alright," said Dr. Higgins. "I know the journalism market isn't great, but this kid is right. There are a lot of opportunities out there for you guys to break into the journalism field, even though it will be tough. And you all have at least one more year here with us at _The Taylor Times_ , so use the time to keep bulking up your portfolios."

Louis didn't want to say anything. He already had a job lined up after graduation next year, thanks to his mom's boyfriend Dan. When Louis told Dan over Christmas break that he wanted to work for a newspaper, Dan set up an interview for him with one of the editors of Louis' local newspaper, who just happened to be Dan's neighbor. Small world. 

It wasn't going to be a big job, just an entry-level fact checker/errand boy, but it was still something. More than what his friends had at this point.

"Anyway, that's about it for Opinion. Moving on," Louis said, smiling across the table at Niall, who took the reigns.

"Alright, for sports..." Niall started. 

Louis took this as his cue to tune out. The rest of the meeting wouldn't be about him, so he didn't care that much. All he was interested in now was the pizza that would soon be arriving, like every other week. That was the best part of these meetings, really. There was always free pizza for the editors and writers. 

Once Niall and Josh finished talking about their section, Dr. Higgins and Dr. Teasdale took a minute to congratulate everyone on the successful year they've had. Even though the majority of the staff would remain the same, since the editors were mainly sophomores and juniors this year, some of them were changing positions. Liam was moving from managing editor to executive, Danielle was moving from news editor to managing, and Stan Lucas, who just transferred to Taylor this year, was moving from staff writer to news editor. And of course, Harry something was moving from photographer to photography editor.

And then finally, at 5:25, it was time for pizza, which had just arrived. While Louis jumped up to grab his usual three slices, Liam opened the door of the office to the hallway outside, letting in the few writers that had been waiting. The office itself sat in the basement of one of the older residence halls on campus, which was a bit strange. But it worked because the building was usually quiet during the day while the staff was working.

The writers grabbed their pizza and pulled up chairs to the editors' table, waiting for Liam to start talking about the final issue for the year.

Louis sat down with his pizza, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw one more writer shuffling down the hallway. He had a large black messenger bag slung over his shoulder, as well as a camera case. So maybe he wasn't a writer, Louis thought. 

The writer came bustling into the office. 

"Sorry I'm late," he said in his deep voice. Louis was intrigued. He looked up... all the way up. This guy was tall. He was kind of lanky. His legs took up about half of his body alone. But his black T-shirt showed off some muscular arms, and Louis didn't mind that. Then Louis got to the boy's face. This kid was young, definitely a freshman, and his green eyes popped against his tanned skin.

 _He must spend a lot of time in the sun_ _,_ Louis guessed.

But it was the hair that held Louis' attention the longest. It was just a mop of chocolate curls that didn't seem to have any kind of organization. They were just  _there,_ on his head. He made it work. 

 _I wonder if I could run my fingers through those curls. Just once,_ _Louis_ wondered.

"Not a problem, Harry," Liam said. "We're just getting started."

 _Harry?_ Louis frowned. This couldn't be the new photo editor. 

But, he was, proven when Harry sat down in the empty seat next to Louis. 

Liam started the meeting then, going through each section and having the editors go over the stories in their sections.

Louis, once again, tuned them all out, knowing it would take at least ten minutes to get through News, Features and Entertainment. That was when Opinion would go, and Sports would follow. 

He couldn't help but sneak glances at the boy next to him, though. Harry was sitting up straight, listening to each editor and complimenting him or her on some of the story ideas. He also scribbled down on his outline which stories would need photos and what kind each editor was looking for. Danielle told him that the contact list for the photographers was in the photo office, by the computer.

Harry nodded at that and thanked her for the reminder.

When it was Louis' turn to speak, he was very conscious of the fact that Harry was now staring directly at him. It made him a little nervous, to be honest, because Harry was hot. Like, in the runway model way. Louis wondered if he was straight or not.

Anyway, he ran through his stories the same way he did in the editors' meeting, explaining each one and also saying that all of his stories were assigned, so Opinion was finished for the year.

The sports section began speaking, and Harry nudged him on his leg. Louis stopped breathing immediately.

"Sorry, I think I missed it. Did you need any photos from me or anything?"

Louis didn't even make eye contact. He just shook his head "no." 

"OK, thanks," Harry said, turning to Niall and Josh to be told about sports photos that needed to be taken.

Louis let out his breath and mentally scolded himself. Seriously? That's the impression he wants to make? Harry probably thought he was an asshole now. He asked Louis a simple question and Louis had stared straight ahead as if Harry was insignificant. Great.

\---

Louis sat at his desk in the office on Thursday night. It was just past 7:00, and his section had been complete for two hours. He was just waiting for final changes from Liam and Dani before he could save his pages and export them to the printer. He looked around at his co-workers. Eleanor Calder and Perrie Edwards, the features and entertainment editors, sat to his right. They both had their heads down as they were taking edits to their stories from Dani and putting them on the computer. In the back corner sat Niall and Josh, goofing off as usual. The sports pages were also finished, so they just needed the final approval from Liam before they could be done. 

Louis looked over his left shoulder, looking at the other corner of the office to set his eyes on Stan and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the other News editor. Stan was on the phone with a source, some local businessman, about his top story, while Leigh-Anne was just staring at her computer. She needed to finish the headlines for the section and had drawn a blank. She had been stuck for about twenty minutes already. 

Louis looked back at his computer, wishing there was something he could do. Everyone else was in his or her own world, completely involved in his or her section. Of course, the opinion section was the only section that only required one editor. Features and Entertainment did as well, but they were so similar that the sections were usually linked together. 

He just wanted the paper to be done, because then the fun could start. 

It was a tradition that after the final issue of the year was finalized, the graduating editors would return to the office one last time to hang out with the new staff. And usually, the graduating editors would be completely drunk, just because they could be.

Louis had been the opinion editor for two full years now, taking on the position at the end of his freshman year. And every year, it had been the same - lots of laughs, cake thrown in people's faces and memorable toasts to the future.

"Louis!" Liam called. Louis looked to the left, where Liam sat at the editors' table - the same place where they held the weekly meetings.

"You're good to export your pages, man. Just save everything, send them to the printer and then post the articles online."

"Yes, Liam, I understand. I've been doing that every Thursday night for the last two years." Louis responded to Liam. 

Louis loved his roommate, don't get him wrong, but Liam did have a bit of an obsessive quality to him. The two of them started writing for the paper at the same time, when they were freshmen. Louis always stuck with opinion writing, loving that he could talk about whatever subject he wanted, as long as it related to Taylor students or college students in general. Liam bounced around, usually writing for news or entertainment, but becoming entertainment editor their sophomore year. When he was asked to be the managing editor this year, he almost crapped his pants in excitement. Louis never asked how excited he was to be executive editor next year, their senior year. 

"Yeah, yeah, Louis. Thank you!" Liam said with a smile.

Louis turned to his computer, following the familiar procedures of saving and sending out his pages, then posting all of the articles on the _Taylor Times_ website. 

Ten minutes later, he was done. He just had to wait for the other sections to be done so Ed and Sandy could come to the office and they could all celebrate. 

\--- 

After another three hours of Louis bullshitting at his desk, harassing the other editors and listening to music, the final articles were posted online and Louis had officially completed another year of being an editor. The paper was done, he only had two finals to take and his housing payment was submitted this morning. Louis couldn't wait to be a senior.

It was then that Harry finally emerged from the photography office. He had been holed up in there all night, editing last minute photos that came in for the top stories in News and Entertainment. He stretched his arms above his head, and when he did, his shirt came up just a little bit. 

Louis couldn't resist looking at the hint of abs that peeked out from beneath Harry's white T-shirt. He had rolled the sleeves up also, showing off those arms that Louis just wanted to fall asleep in, and the tattoos. Oh, the tattoos. Louis just wanted to kiss along every single one of them, and - oh god, was Louis really thinking this?

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them a moment later. 

"Liam, text Sandy and Ed and tell them to get their asses here. I'm gonna grab the cake."

Louis walked out the office door and down the hallway to the residence's kitchen. 

He opened the fridge and examined the cake's decorations. Liam had gone traditional, it seemed. There was the  _Taylor Times'_ logo in the middle with Sandy's and Ed's names on either side of it. Across the top it said, "We miss you already" and across the bottom it said, "you crazy mofo's!" 

Louis smiled at the cake and reached out to pick it up.

"Hey, Louis?" said a deep voice behind him.

Louis jumped, banging the back of his head on the top of the fridge as he came up. He rubbed at the sore spot and turned to see who it was.

It was Harry. Oh, good.

Louis had done well during the week avoiding Harry, keeping his head phones in while working and leaving the office as soon as his work was done for the night. But he supposed he had no choice now. 

"I'm sorry if I've offended you or something. I honestly didn't mean to," Harry started.

Louis kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to say anything that would embarrass him later. 

"I know that Ed was one of your good friends, so I hope that you know that I'm not trying to be better than him or anything now. I just want to be as good of a photographer and editor that he is."

Wait, what? Louis was confused. Harry thought that Louis wasn't talking to him because he didn't want Harry to replace Ed? Was this for real?

Louis didn't know how to respond, so Harry just shuffled his feet and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you in there?" 

He turned and walked out, scratching at the back of his head.

Harry was sweet, thinking of Louis' feelings like that. And he was hot.

He was a good photographer, too. Louis had searched the newspaper website for what photos Harry had taken, and he was impressed. 

Harry was funny, too. He was eavesdropping on a conversation he was having with Liam earlier tonight, and the boy had some good jokes. Way too many cheesy ones, but a few good ones. 

Harry had gorgeous green eyes and soft-looking brown curls. 

And dimples. Oh, the dimples.

And the raspy voice. 

And Louis got to sit next to Harry at every Monday afternoon editors' meeting next year. Every. Single. One.

Louis was in trouble.


	2. No Choice

Louis didn't know if he should laugh or punch himself in the face at what had just happened. 

He needed to figure out how to best tell Harry that he wasn't speaking to him for the reasons he thought.

Simply, Louis wasn't avoiding having a conversation with Harry because Harry was replacing Ed, he was avoiding Harry because he didn't want to immediately say that all he had been thinking about all week was the different positions the two of them could try in Louis' bed. 

What could he do? He had to say something now. But he didn't want to make it awkward for Harry. The boy had only just completed his first issue as an editor. Telling him the truth right now would only make things awkward for the both of them - and the rest of the office.

So, Louis decided to do what he did best - act like nothing ever happened.

He turned back to fridge and grabbed the cake. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he carefully walked back to the office and placed it on the editors' table. Everyone else was busy covering the computers with plastic bags, which was entirely necessary. This could get messy.

Louis remembered the last two years' events. His freshman year, the seniors had come into the office singing "I'm On a Boat" and squirting everyone with water guns. Last year, there were six editors graduating and they had stormed the office with cupcakes and chocolate syrup, attacking all of the new editors and leaving the office in shambles. Louis, Liam and Niall had spent three days cleaning all of the chocolate stains out of the carpets.

"Liam, you have a knife to cut this with? And plates?" Louis asked.

"Of course, Lou, I'm all prepared." Liam said. "Also, Ed and Sandy will be here in a few minutes, they're driving back from the restaurant now."

"Wait, hang on!" Louis exclaimed. "They're sober enough to be driving here? That's no fun. What are we going to do this year? Sit and chat?"

"Well, it'll be no Chocolate War of 2012, but I'm fine with that," Niall said.

"Agreed!" Liam cut in. "Anyway, Perrie, did you bring the soda?"

Perrie stopped talking with Eleanor and said, "Yup, it's in the fridge. Put it there earlier today."

"Josh, why don't you get some music going?" Dani asked from her seat.

"Absolutely," Josh said, jumping up. He walked over to his computer, and after a moment, Niall joined him, claiming he needed to help choose some decent songs.

Louis looked toward the photo office to see Harry leaning against the doorframe. He looked a little nervous, which was to be expected. Ed and Sandy could come in here with literally anything up their sleeves. And even though the boys likely weren't drunk, this "party" was still guaranteed to be less than tame.

At that moment, Louis decided that instead of ignoring the conversation he had in the kitchen, he would take the few minutes he had to clear some air with Harry. 

He walked over to the giant freshman. Had he been looking at Harry's face instead of the ground, he would have noticed that Harry's eyes lit up once he noticed Louis walking in his direction. 

"Can I talk to you?" Louis asked quietly, finally looking up. "It'll just take a second."

"Yeah, sure," Harry said. "Step into my office." 

He swept his right arm up and to the side, showing Louis the way to the small room. 

"Wow, that was cheesy," Louis sighed, but going inside anyway. 

Harry shut the door almost all the way, leaving it cracked just a little.

"So..." Louis started. "You haven't offended me. In any way. I'm sorry if it seemed that way."

Now it was Harry's turn to not know what to say. He just stood there, listening to Louis, waiting for him to keep speaking.

"It's just... You haven't really met me. So you don't know that sometimes, I can come off a bit like..." Louis wasn't sure what word to use to describe himself.

"An ass?" Harry offered. 

_Wow, maybe Harry did know Louis after all._

"Exactly! But don't worry, you'll get used to it. You don't have a choice, really."

"Why's that? Harry asked.

"Because, young one," Louis said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "When you're with the same group of people nearly every day, getting stressed out about similar things and being pissed off by the same people, there's no way to not become friends. You need someone to vent to who will understand what you're talking about. There have been people in this office over the past few years that I would have hated if I wasn't with them all the time. There are a lot of good friends that I wouldn't have made if it weren't for this place."

Harry nodded before saying, "So, did we just become friends?"

Louis started to laugh. "Did you _try_ to quote  _Step Brothers_ or did it just happen that way?" 

Harry joined in on the laughter, realizing his reference.

It was then that they heard a loud crash from the main office, followed by a lot of yelling. Yup. Ed and Sandy had arrived. 

Louis and Harry looked at each other before venturing out the door. Sandy was chasing people with a squirt bottle in each hand, while Ed had taken a spot in the middle of the room, spinning in a circle and just squirting his two bottles as he spun, letting whatever was in those bottles hit anything and everything. 

Louis saw Leigh-Anne and Perrie crouching behind a desk. Eleanor was putting her cell phone and camera in a drawer so they wouldn't get ruined. Stan was attempting to stop Sandy long enough for Niall to wrestle a bottle away from him.

Louis smiled when he saw the scene in front of him. His friends and fellow editors running around the room, finally able to relax from all the pressures of putting out a paper, being squirted with, well...

"Oi!" Louis yelled out, catching everyone's attention. "What's in those bottles?"

Ed finally stopped spinning, almost losing his balance from how dizzy he was.

"It's squirtable chalk," he said. "It's food coloring and water and some other random stuff that I've never used in my life and never will use again." 

Sandy sprayed Liam in the back before adding, "we didn't want to use food because we remembered helping clean up the mess from last year. This seemed like more fun to use."

"But it's totally washable, Lou," Ed smirked, showering Louis with his squirt bottles. "See?"

Louis looked down at his white and blue striped T-shirt, which was now completely covered in yellow and red streaks. It smelled horrible, like rotten eggs. 

The room tensed up then. But Louis knew just what to do.

He looked Ed straight in the eye and warned, "Three..."

Everyone watched Ed to see what would happen.

The ginger haired editor looked at Louis and said, "you wouldn't."

Louis squared his shoulders and just said, "Two..."

Ed turned on his heel and ran out of the office and down the hallway.

"One!" Louis bellowed before chasing after him. "I'm gonna get you, Sheeran!"

As he ran out the door of the building to follow Ed outside, he heard Liam yell out, "I'm _not_ cleaning this all up by myself!"

\---

The next morning, Louis woke up feeling sore. He stretched his arms, immediately regretting it. He, Liam, Dani, Harry and Niall had spent an extra hour after everyone left the office last night scrubbing the chalk out of the carpets. It wasn't quite as washable as Ed and Sandy said it would be, but with all of them helping, they got it so that the brighter colors weren't as noticeable. Hopefully the purple and blue shades would just blend into the dark flooring.

It wasn't a total loss, though. The extra time with Harry only made it clearer that nothing could ever happen between the two of them. 

If Harry and Louis didn't work together, Louis would have already made a move. But Louis had seen interoffice relationships crash and burn. Horribly. During Louis' sophomore year, there was a couple that had been dating for more than six years. They got engaged over Christmas break. They didn't graduate that way. This year, Louis knew that Niall and Josh would hook up every Thursday night after the pages were exported. They even became official for a few months before Josh decided that he didn't want a relationship. Niall played it off like it didn't matter, and to the average person, it looked like they split amicably, with no awkwardness. But Louis knew better. He knew Niall too well to know that he wasn't just fine. Especially not since he had to work with Josh every week.

So no, Louis didn't want something to happen with Harry. Even though it was all that he so desperately wanted. 

Louis looked over to Liam's bed, seeing that his roommate was, of course, already gone. Probably at the library again making outlines for his finals. 

Louis had managed to arrange his schedule so he wouldn't have any classes on Fridays, meaning that yesterday was his last day of classes as a junior. Exams started bright and early on Monday morning. Although for Louis, one exam was on Thursday and the other needed to be emailed to his professor by midnight Tuesday night. 

So he had time to hang out and do nothing, although he should study. 

He checked his phone and saw a new text waiting for him. It was from Zayn.

**_Food. Now._ **

That was all it said. It was sent a few minutes ago, probably the reason Louis woke up. 

Louis groaned, because even though he was hungry, too, he didn't want to leave his bed. Only Zayn  _fucking_ Malik would wake him up at, what time was it, anyway?

He looked at his phone again. Shit. It was already after 1 in the afternoon. Maybe he did need to get moving.

**_Give me 10. Just woke up._ **

He sent back his reply and rolled himself out of bed to get ready. 

Louis decided that today, he wouldn't go eat in his pajamas. He took off the pair of gray sweatpants that he had slept in and dug around in his closet, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants. At least they were clean.

He also pulled on a blue T-shirt and his beat up black Vans.

Whatever. It was only lunch with Zayn. He would probably just be coming back here to his dorm anyway.

He went down the hall to the communal bathroom with his toothbrush so he could at least get rid of his morning breath.

A few minutes later, he returned to his room, feeling a little cleaner. Grabbing his ID, room key and phone, he left the room, locking the door behind him.

**_Just left. Meet me out front._  **

He texted Zayn and got a response before he had finished descending the first flight of stairs. 

 _**Already there. Let's go.** _

Figures. Although, if Louis remembered correctly, and he did, Zayn's last class of the day just let out. That class was in the Fine Arts building, which was just a few minutes away from Louis' dorm. 

Louis walked out the main entrance of his building to find Zayn already waiting for him. 

"Alright, man, let's go," Zayn rushed.

Louis paused. "Whoa, calm down, I had to get dressed. I wasn't going to lunch in my underwear."

"Wouldn't be the most shocking thing you've ever done, Lou, let's be honest."

Louis smiled, putting his hands in his pockets. "Ah, Zayn, you're right on the money with that one."

The boys started walking. Louis' dorm was toward the back of campus, and, as luck would have it, the dining hall was toward the front. It was about a ten-minute walk before Louis and Zayn could taste the magically mediocre food of Taylor University.

"I can't wait until next year when we don't have to go to the dining hall. Ever." Louis stated.

Louis was talking about the on-campus apartment that he would be sharing with Zayn, Niall and Liam next year for their senior year. Well, Louis', Zayn's and Liam's senior year. Niall would only be a junior. 

The apartment had a living room, kitchen, washer, dryer and four separate bedrooms - no one would have to share a room next year. It cost more than the regular dorm, of course, but it would be worth it to never have to venture out of the building whenever he wanted to eat, especially when the weather was shit. And he would never have to go all the way into the basement to do his laundry again. The final selling point of the new housing was that the apartment buildings had their own parking lots. So on nights that he came home drunk from the bar, he would only have a one minute walk to his bedroom, instead of having to cross the whole campus from the standard parking lot. 

"I can't wait until Wednesday and Thursday nights when all three of you are at the office and I have the place to myself," Zayn countered. "That's going to be amazing." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Louis said. "You're going to get so lonely there all by yourself, with none of us to distract you from doing your homework, and shouting so loud that you can't hear your own music, even when you put your headphones in."

"I really don't think so, Lou, but thanks for the concern." 

"You know," Louis started, "it might not be too late for you to be the photography editor. You just have to talk to Liam. He  _is_ in charge now."

Zayn stopped walking and looked at Louis. "Wait, why? What's wrong with Harry?"

"Nothing, nothing, he's fine," said Louis. "But you know it would be awesome to have you in the office all the time with us, too."

Zayn nodded and resumed walking. "Nah, I'm good just being a photographer. Besides, I've seen how stressed you guys get every week. Always worried about whether or not a story's going to come in on time or not."

 _"Oh, what if this person forgets to write the story?"_ Zayn mimicked. 

_"Oh, no! This picture is just not right for this article!"_

_"What! This is not the word count I said. He has to fix this immediately!"_

"Alright, alright," Louis interrupted, "I get it. We can be a little annoying with all of that."

"It's not that, I mean, I understand how much work goes into the paper. That's why I don't want to be an editor for it. Besides, I'm an art major, it's not like I need the extra journalism experience or anything."

Louis shrugged, and the boys walked quietly for a minute.

"Isn't that Harry over there?" Zayn asked, breaking the silence. 

Louis looked up, and sure enough, just across the lake, Harry was running in a pair of blue track shorts and a gray T-shirt.

 _Of course he's a runner. He fucking would be,_ Louis thought to himself.

Harry was going the opposite way as Louis and Zayn, so Louis wouldn't have to say anything if they crossed paths.

He didn't realize he was staring until Zayn cleared his throat. Loudly.

Louis looked back to his friend to find himself getting a staredown.

"What?" Louis demanded.

"I get it now. Duh!" Zayn laughed.

_Fuck._

"What do you get now, Zayn?"

"It's obvious. You like Harry. Have you talked to him yet?"

"What are you talking about, Zayn? I don't like Harry. I barely know him!" Louis pretended his voice didn't rise in pitch with that last sentence. 

Zayn scoffed and said, "Louis, I know I only met you this year, but I still know you like the back of my hand. You were just watching Harry so hard I thought your eyes were going to pop out of your head. I think you even stopped breathing for a minute, man."

"Bullshit," Louis said. "Let's go eat, come on. Why is it taking us so long to get to the cafeteria today?"

"Listen, man, I don't care if you like him or not. I've talked to him a couple times at the newspaper meetings. He's a cool dude."

"When has he ever been at meetings?" Louis asked. "I've only seen him for the first time this week."

Zayn rolled his eyes.

"He's at every meeting, man. How do you miss him? He's like six feet tall."

Louis racked his brain. Usually, after the meetings, writers would come up to him and talk for a few minutes about that week's articles. They would sign up for any unassigned stories and pitch ideas for a story for the next issue. After that, Louis would give them a deadline and a word count for the article, and that was it. The writers left. Louis would shut down his computer and go back to his dorm. It was the same for the other sections. He supposed that Harry had just never spoken to him, had only talked to Ed about photos and then left. But still, how had he never seen him?

"Whatever, Lou," Zayn said. "All I'm saying is, if you like Harry, talk to him. You got plenty of time. There are twenty-something issues of the paper next year. And don't you have that meeting over the summer, too?"

Zayn was talking about the day in July when all the editors would come back to the office to discuss the first issue of the paper for the school year. It was a shorter issue, only 8 pages instead of 12 or 16. Louis only had one page in that issue, so he usually did two articles and a cartoon for it, or some other condensed version of his section. 

"Yeah, that's true..." Louis said. "I mean, yes, we do have twenty-four issues of the paper, and there is a meeting over the summer. You're correct about  _that_ stuff."

Zayn just looked at Louis in amazement. "Talk to him Louis. And with that, I'm done with this conversation. I'm too hungry to focus on anything else."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first, I wasn't sure about this chapter, but I think it turned out really well! Sorry if there are any mistakes. I did proofread, but it's like, 1:30 in the morning, so I may have missed a few.  
> Thanks for reading! What do you think so far?


	3. Ten Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're gonna get a little bit of action in this chapter. I'm sure you're all very excited!

Louis woke up on the morning of July 20 and already hated everything about the day. 

Today was the day that he had to drive back up to Taylor for the newspaper summer meeting. They had to discuss the mini issue, which would be coming out on the first day of school to welcome back the students from their summer break. Liam also had to get everyone's housing information so that he could get everyone cleared to move in to his or her dorms and apartments on August 28th instead of September 2nd, like the rest of the campus. 

Early move in. Just one of the perks of being a newspaper editor.

Basically, this meant that once Louis moved back in, he just had to put in a few hours of work on his single page in the paper and spend the rest of the week drinking and doing nothing before the new semester began on September 4th. He was definitely looking forward to that. 

But he wasn't looking forward to seeing Harry. Louis had gone the last two months without thinking of the curly-haired dork. But this meeting was supposed to be about four hours long. Seriously.

That was four hours he would have to spend next to Harry, itching to just reach out and grab his hand, or run his fingers through those dark locks. Liam was likely to do some sort of "get to know you" game, as well. Liam was the type to enjoy those kinds of things.

Great, so that meant that he would learn some new information about Harry. Like, Harry spent his free time volunteering in a homeless shelter, or enjoyed tutoring disabled kids at a local school. Something like that.

Something to make Louis want Harry even more. 

This was going to be such a long day.

Louis looked at the clock to see that it was already 8:30. He needed to be on the road by 9 to make it to campus on time for the 10 o'clock meeting. Louis lived just under an hour away from Taylor. He just had to jump on the highway, drive for a while, get off the highway and boom. That was it. Taylor was right there. 

He forced himself out of bed so he could get a shower and get dressed. He then spent about ten minutes in front of his closet deciding what to wear. 

 _This is ridiculous,_ he thought to himself. It didn't matter what shorts and T-shirt combo he arrived in. 

According to the weather, it would be a high of 88 degrees, so he decided on a pair of dark blue basketball shorts with a white T-shirt. His dirty white Converse finished his college-chic ensemble. As much as he wanted to wear the pair of khaki shorts he kept in his closet for fancy occasions, he knew that Niall or Liam would say something about them. Louis usually wore basketball shorts around the office. That's what he would wear today. 

Louis shoved his keys, phone and wallet into his pockets, officially running late. He grabbed a bagel from the kitchen pantry and layered it with cream cheese before leaving the house. 

"Bye!" he yelled out to no one in particular, knowing that his mom and sisters were all still asleep. And why shouldn't they be? It was 9 am on a Saturday morning. If Louis could be sleeping right now, he would be. 

He jumped in his car and started the familiar drive, eating along the way. 

Louis was excited to see his friends, though. He hadn't seen any of the other editors since moving home. The newspaper staff was scattered around the tri-state area. Niall lived in New York, about three hours away from Louis. Liam actually lived about 20 minutes from Taylor, but preferred to live on campus instead of commuting. Something about "needing the freedom" or something like that. Perrie and Dani lived out in Pennsylvania. So did Stan, but he was right in the heart of Philadelphia. He wasn't sure about the rest of them.

Louis himself lived in South Jersey, near Washington Township. All he saw as he jumped on I-295 were housing developments, 24-hour Wal-Marts and super Wawas. He'd lived in the same town his whole life, only changing houses once his younger sisters started coming along. 

As Louis drove, the numbers on the exits continued to get bigger. He couldn't help but realize that this would be the last time he would make this drive to campus for the summer meeting. He was a senior now. This was the last year of his college career. The last year of writing editorials. The last year of taking classes. The last year of freedom. 

Louis wasn't dumb. He knew that after graduation, he would have to move back home like the rest of his class. Who knew when he would actually save up enough money to be able to get his own apartment? Sure, he had his job lined up, but he would soon have to start paying back his student loans. Even if he had a roommate, it wasn't looking good. 

Louis sighed.

_No reason to be such a pessimist. I still have until May._

Louis knew he shouldn't be thinking of the end of the school year before it even officially began. But it was just who he was. Always preparing himself for the worst and trying not to expect the best. 

He pressed down on the gas pedal, suddenly eager to reach his college campus, his second home. 

\---

"Alright, everyone, the rules of this game are simple," Liam started. 

_Oh, look at that. An ice breaker game. Didn't see it coming._

"We're going to stand in a circle. I'm going to throw you the beach ball, and whatever question your hand lands on, you have to answer it. Then you throw it to someone else and they answer their question. We'll go around until everyone gets a turn. Simple, right?"

"Liam, I don't mean to be obnoxious with this..." Louis began to say.

He chose to ignore the laughs heard around the room. 

"But do we really need to do an ice breaker? Almost the whole staff is the same from last year, and we know every damn detail about each other's personal lives. Can we skip this part?"

Liam thought for a moment before answering. "We could skip this part, Louis, but we do have two new staff members here." He pointed to Stan and Harry, who blushed a little with the attention of the room on him. "We can get to know them and help them know us. I mean, let's be honest, the group of us as a whole can be a little intimidating. As well as overwhelming."

Louis shrugged. He knew it was true. Whenever a group of newspaper editors were together in the same room, they tended to act very cliquish, ignoring anyone else in the room and keeping all of the attention on themselves. Louis didn't mind having the focus on him, though. It gave him more confidence, which, in his mind, only made him funnier, as he could tell more jokes at a faster pace. 

"So, Louis, you can start. Catch." Liam threw the ball to Louis, who caught it with ease. 

"Alright, Liam, let's see what kind of questions you have here."

Louis looked down. Under his left hand, there wasn't a question, just the squared off bottom of the ball. But under his right hand, a question read, ' _If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?'_

He read the question out loud, and then answered, "I don't need to change a thing, friends. I'm pretty damn perfect, wouldn't you agree?"

He went to throw the ball, but Dani said, "Lou, answer the question."

Louis looked at her, and she was staring at him with a stern look. So were Jesy and Leigh-Anne, who were on either side of her.

"Fine," Louis sighed. "Um, I guess I would change my height. I'd like to be a few inches taller."

"Better," Leigh-Anne said.

Louis threw the ball to Niall then, who read the question, "If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"Easy," Niall huffed. "Ireland. I used to live there, and haven't been back since I was fourteen. Visit a pub; watch some soccer, aka football. Done." 

Niall turned to throw the ball to Jade, and the game continued, until Stan threw the ball to Harry.

_This was it. What question would Harry be answering?_

"What's the hardest thing you've ever done?" Harry read. 

Louis' breath halted. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear this answer. 

"Um, well..." Harry began, looking at his feet, "if we're being honest here, then my answer would have to be..."

 _Spit it out already._ Louis thought he was going to explode at how slowly this boy spoke. 

"Coming out."

Harry looked up to gauge the situation, looking a little surprised that everyone had a neutral expression on his or her face. 

"By the way, I'm gay." 

There was silence in the room. 

Louis' heart was racing. He thought that maybe, just  _maybe,_ Harry might be gay. Or at least bi. But he didn't want to get his hopes up. And he never, in a million years, thought that he would come out to the whole newspaper staff at once. When Louis came out, it was to one or two people at a time, as he didn't know who would react positively and who wouldn't. So hearing Harry tell eleven people at the same time what Louis had already suspected left him, well, Louis didn't know what to feel, except for complete and total respect. 

It had been quiet for too long. Everyone was kind of nodding at the news, but not really saying anything. So Louis took it upon himself to break the tension.

"Well OK, Dr. Seuss."

And with just four words, everyone in the office was laughing, just like he knew they would. No one in this office would shun Harry for his declaration. No one had been bothered when they found out Louis was gay, so why would this be any different?

The other editors congratulated Harry on his bravery for his confession, the girls giving him hugs and the guys giving him claps on the back. Louis stood where he was, though. When Harry looked his way, he simply smiled at him. Louis hated the butterflies he got in his stomach when Harry smiled back. 

\--- 

The rest of the meeting went smoothly. The advisers, Dr. Higgins and Dr. Teasdale, arrived at 11, just after the ice breaker game finished. They set the discussions in motion at what should be the top story and what writers were already assigned to stories. 

Each editor had contacted his or her most reliable writers to pen each story. They needed people who wouldn't ignore the deadlines set for the articles, as most students tended to slack off during the summer. 

The advisers held a presentation about news writing, just to give the editors reminders of what to include in stories and how to set up an article. 

Liam passed around a sheet for every editor to record his or her housing information. Louis and Niall didn't need to, as they would be living with Liam. 

After a few last minute questions, everyone was free to go, a half hour early. Louis was relieved that he could get back sooner than he thought he would, even though he had nothing special planned for the rest of the day. 

Before he left, he went to the bathroom, since he did have an hour-long drive ahead of him. 

When he walked out in the hallway, he passed Liam and Dani, who looked very comfortable walking together. 

 _Interesting._ He would have to text Liam later to find out what was going on there.

"Hey, man, will you lock up before you guys leave?" Liam asked. 

"Sure, no problem. See you on the 28th for move in?"

"Absolutely. Can't wait." 

Louis smiled and nodded at the two of them.

He walked back into the office, looking to see who was left, but he didn't see anyone. 

Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed his stuff and turned to leave, before hearing typing on a keyboard. He looked over his shoulder, still not seeing anyone in the office. 

Then he realized, that the inside of the photography room wasn't visible from the front entrance of the office. He walked toward the back of the room and peered inside of the smaller space to find Harry sitting hunched over his computer, typing an email. 

Louis just stared for a minute, watching the way Harry's curls bobbed up and down as Harry checked his spelling in the email before looking back down at the keyboard. The way his long fingers slowly tapped each key. The way that his right leg bounced up and down. 

It was getting to be too much for Louis, so he cleared his throat. 

Harry jumped at the sudden noise before turning around. 

"Hey, Louis, you scared me," he said.

"Yeah, sorry," Louis apologized. "Didn't mean to do that. But, were you just about finished? Liam asked me to lock up, and you're the only one still here. And I kind of want to go home."

The last sentence came out a bit ruder than Louis intended it to, but Harry just nodded.

"I'm done. I just wanted to send an email to some of the photographers to get pictures for the articles. Didn't want to forget to later."

Harry pressed send on the email and shut down his computer, grabbing his things from the desk. 

He stood up and cracked his back, and just like before, Louis found himself staring at Harry's abs showing from underneath his shirt when he stretched.

"OK, then." Louis turned and walked into the main office.

"Hey, Louis?" Harry asked, following him out. 

Louis stopped and swung back around. 

"Yeah, man? What's up?"

Harry did that feet shuffling thing again before asking, "Do you think I should have waited to tell everybody? You know, that I'm..."

"Gay." Louis finished. He paused before saying, "It's not the way I would have done it. When I did it, I was way more reserved about the whole thing, since I didn't know how anybody would react. But the people here would never judge you for anything. Especially not for that. They're too good for that, just so you know."

It was then that Louis realized that he had just come out to Harry, which is not at all how he saw this conversation going. 

But once again, Harry was just nodding along to the new information. 

"OK, so it's not going to be weird when we start up again in September, right?" Harry took a step toward Louis when he said this.

Louis looked at the floor and calculated that there were probably only about ten steps between them. 

"Because, I don't want there to be any awkwardness when we come back." Harry took two more steps.

Louis just stared at Harry, unable to move from his spot by the door. 

"I mean, the guys won't all of a sudden think that everything that I do here is me hitting on them or something, right?" Two more steps. 

Louis' heart was starting to race. What was happening? Why was Harry moving closer to him? 

"That's what happened to me in high school. That's why I couldn't wait to graduate. And I really like it here, so I don't want anything to ruin my time here." Three more steps.

Louis' heart felt like it was about to explode.

_I should say something. But what the fuck do I say right now?_

"By the way, Louis," Harry said. "I'm glad that you're not a few inches taller. I really, _really_  like your height."

Louis doesn't know who closed the distance then, but he did know that all of a sudden, he felt Harry's right hand around the back of his neck, and Louis' lips were pressed to Harry's. 

Louis didn't hesitate to weave his fingers into Harry's hair, gently pulling at the soft curls.

Harry's tongue licked at Louis' lips, begging to deepen the kiss. And, well, who was Louis to deny that? 

Louis felt Harry's tongue massaging his own before he started backing up until he reached the office door, pulling Harry with him. 

Back against the door, Harry's right hand moved to cup the side of Louis' face and the left hand pushed up the hem of his T-shirt, grazing Louis' skin. 

Louis let out a small moan as he broke away from Harry, but he just continued along Louis' jaw line, trailing kisses down the side of his face and down his throat.

Louis knew that his breathing was a little louder than normal, but he just didn't care. One of his hands left Harry's curls and slid down his back, not stopping until he was grabbing Harry's ass. He pushed down, bringing Harry's crotch into his own. 

Harry groaned and brought his lips back to Louis', not even waiting before bringing his tongue inside Louis' mouth once more. 

Once Louis started to grind against Harry, and Harry rubbed right back, Louis knew this had to stop. He placed both hands on either side of Harry's face and broke away from the kiss, gently pushing Harry back. The two boys were breathing heavy, and Louis had to think of something else, anything else, because he was half-hard in his shorts. 

Louis squeezed his eyes shut before forcing himself to say, "Harry, I'm sorry, I can't. We can't. We work together, and it just wouldn't work. I'm so sorry."

He opened his eyes and looked up. Harry had a pained expression on his face, and Louis hated himself for being the reason for that pain. 

"Yeah, yeah, you're right, Louis," Harry said, clearing his throat. "I should go." 

Louis dropped his hands and moved to the side so Harry could get out the door.

He watched as Harry grabbed the handle and hesitated for a moment before finally opening the door and walking out, not bothering to close it behind him.

Louis just stood there. Not knowing what to do next. Should he just forget this even happened and just go home? Should he run after Harry and say that he didn't mean it? 

But he did mean it, which is the pathetic part. Louis knows that they wouldn't work. The stress of this job was enough to drive anyone crazy. And he didn't want to throw in a relationship on top of it. He would wind up getting so angry one night and snapping at Harry over something completely stupid. And then they would argue about it, and it would be over. He just knew it. 

That  _is_ what would happen... Right? 


	4. One of Those Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this chapter, I guess that means you like the story? At least a little bit?  
> Anyway, if you couldn't tell by now, this is going to be a longggg story with a lot of twists and turns. Hope you don't mind.  
> So sit back and enjoy the bumpy ride!

"Can I go home now?" Louis groaned as he flopped into his desk chair.

It was August 29th, the day after move-in, and the first day of working on the mini issue of _The Taylor Times_. All of the editors were back, and the office was bustling. All that could be heard was the tapping of keys, clicking of mouses and scratching of pens on paper. The phone would occasionally ring, letting editors know that a source was finally calling back or that one of their advisers was checking in. 

Louis' page was already done. It hadn't taken much. He reused a template from last year's mini issue, simply cutting out the old articles and replacing the open spaces with the two new ones that his writers had e-mailed him a few days ago. He had typed the headlines for the stories, his editorial was finished, and all he needed was for Liam and Dani to approve the page so he could send it to the printer. But it was taking forever.

"Louis, shut up," Liam called over from his seat at the table. "You've only been here two hours." 

"And it feels like a thousand, Liam!" Louis exaggerated. "I'm so tired."

"Well, I don't know why you decided to stay up until four a.m. arranging your room. You have days to do that."

Louis knew that getting to campus at 8 o'clock last night would be a mistake, but it wasn't his fault. Really. It just so happened that Louis hadn't packed. At all. Obviously, he needed to pack before moving back to campus. 

Surprisingly, Louis didn't have a response to that one, so he just muttered, "whatever, Liam."

Louis leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. He knew he needed to find something to do or someone to bother before he went insane. 

For a few minutes, he went on Facebook and scrolled through the News Feed, before remembering that he hated most of the people he was friends with and didn't really care how upset they were that their summer was coming to an end. 

He looked around the office. Liam and Dani were looking over the pages for some of the sections, looking for any mistakes that needed to be fixed. Stan and Leigh-Anne sat at their desks, debating which photo they should use for their lead story. Eleanor and Perrie were standing in front of Eleanor's computer, trying to decide if a headline for Eleanor's article was "too girly." Louis didn't see Jade and Jesy, so he assumed they were in the ad office, trying to fix a graphic or something. Harry was in the photo office, working on a picture spread for the front page.

But then there was Niall and Josh. They sat hunched over at the Sports computer. To anyone else, it would look like the two of them were just doodling on a piece of scrap paper. But the way that Josh's hand grazed Niall's when he took the pen from him, or the way that Niall's gaze remained on Josh for just a few extra seconds held Louis' attention. 

_What the fuck is this?_

If the two of them were going back to whatever it was they were last year, Louis wanted to know about it. Right away.

Niall really liked Josh, and Louis knew that Josh liked Niall, too, just not as much. He didn't want to see Niall get hurt, again. By the same boy.

Louis made a mental note to ask Niall about it later, if he could get him alone for a minute. 

He turned back to his computer, getting comfortable. He shut his eyes, not even caring if he fell asleep or not.

Louis didn't have to worry, though, because a few minutes later, he felt someone kicking his chair.

He shook himself awake, opening his eyes to find Harry staring down at him with wide eyes.

"You alright there?" he asked. 

"Yeah, man," Louis yawned, "just getting a little cat nap. No big deal. Have a seat. What's up?"

Harry did as he was told, plopping himself down in the chair Louis kept by his desk for occasions like this. Last year, it was Ed who would come sit with Louis when the photos were edited and he was bored. It was similar to this, really. Louis would be the only editor who wasn't busy, as he was usually the first one done because of his smaller section. 

It would take some time to get used to seeing Harry in the seat now.

"Nothing, man. Just needed a break from the room. Do you know how easy it is to go insane in there? There's no windows, it's all cement walls and it's just... gray."

Louis laughed. "Yeah, Ed would complain about that all the time. He would literally get all of the photos done and then come sit out here with me because he hated being in there."

"So I'm not bothering you, then?" Harry inquired.

Oh, just the opposite, really. Everything about Harry bothered Louis. But in a good way. Like, it bothered Louis that Harry could look _that good_ in a white tank top, rolled-up denim shorts and running sneakers. It bothered Louis that Harry could pull off wearing a headband to keep his curls out of his face. It bothered Louis that Harry had those damn dimples that just appeared every time Harry smiled. 

But it really bothered Louis that for the second half of his summer, all he thought about was how to make a relationship with Harry work, even though he shouldn't. But Louis couldn't help himself. He didn't know much about Harry, but for whatever reason, he had been drawn to him since the first week when he noticed Harry in the office. It was just... Fate? Destiny? Love at first sight? _Lust_ at first sight? Louis didn't know. It was one of those things.

Louis grinned at Harry before he said, "Nah, you're good. If you really bug me, I'll definitely let you know." 

"OK, cool," Harry replied, getting comfortable in the chair.

"So how was the rest of your summer? Do anything good?" Louis asked. 

Harry hesitated. He looked at Louis like he was debating whether or not he should answer.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tops of his legs, clasping his hands together. "It was fine. You know, saw some friends I haven't seen in a while, caught up with everyone, spent time with my family. Nothing special. You?"

Louis felt like Harry was hiding something from him. But who was he to press further? If Harry didn't want to share something with him, he didn't have to. It's not like they were dating, or even anything remotely close.

"Pretty much the same, I guess," he responded. "Watched way too many cartoons with my sisters. Drove my mom nuts. Hung out with Liam and Zayn a bit, Skyped with Niall a lot."

"You four are roommates, right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, we're living in the apartments by the lake. The West Side building. No more dining hall food for us."

"Lucky. I hate going there. I always end up eating one of the same four meals when I go there."

"Sorry, man. Don't worry; you'll work your way up in the world. One day you'll have a kitchen like we do and you can make your own crappy food in the luxury of your own room."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm actually a decent chef," Harry said.

Louis raised his eyebrows. "Oh really?" He challenged.

"Yes, really," Harry replied. "I cook for my mom, stepdad and sister all the time at home."

"And where is home, anyway?" 

"About an hour north of here, outside of Hoboken. On the Jersey side, though. I'm not in New York, although I'm there enough."

"Yeah, I don't really know anything about North Jersey geography. The only thing I understood was New York."

"Sorry," Harry smiled. "I kinda forget that not everyone here is from my town. Where are you from, then?"

"South Jersey, near Washington Township," Louis stated proudly. 

Harry just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I got nothing. I'm just as clueless about South Jersey as you are about North."

"That's too bad, because everyone knows that South Jersey is a million times better than North Jersey."

"Bullshit. You've got that backwards, my friend."

That set them off on a twenty-minute debate over which half of New Jersey is better, with neither boy backing down. The discussion topics include whether a sandwich is called a "sub" or a "hoagie," which major local city, Philadelphia or New York City, was better, and who had the stranger accent. 

Louis was about to educate Harry on the magic that is Wawa when Dani came over with Louis' page in her hands.

"Here, Lou, just make these edits and export the page and you're free to go," she explained. "Harry, News has some more pictures that need to be edited. And, is the photo spread done yet?"

"No, sorry," Harry apologized. "I almost forgot about that. I just needed a break for a little bit, if that's OK."

"That's fine, Harry, we're all going to be here tomorrow for a little while, anyway. Except for Louis, of course. He's done first, as usual. Just get as much done today as you can." 

Harry nodded. "OK, thanks."

Dani walked away before Harry stood up.

"I should go finish my pictures then. I'll see you... well, I don't know when. You won't be here tomorrow."

Louis tried to hide his disappointment. He had fun talking with Harry, even though Harry was completely wrong. South Jersey is so much better than the North.

"Yeah, I guess I'll sleep all day tomorrow. Do a whole lot of nothing," he smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't hide your sadness over that, Lou. I'm sure you'll have a rough time of it."

Louis laughed, watching Harry walk away, back into the small photo office. He knew that the editors had some time off before they got back into the full swing of things. The first meeting wouldn't be until the 9th, which was the Monday after classes started.

That was almost two weeks away. He couldn't wait that long to talk to Harry.

As he made the necessary changes to his page and got the page ready to be exported, he made a quick decision.

He signed off his computer and went over to talk to Liam.

"Hey," he whispered in his ear, breaking Liam's concentration.

"Lou, what? I want to finish proofreading this page so we can get out of here soon," Liam whined.

"OK, calm down. I just have a proposition for you. And for Niall, I suppose."

"Which is...?"

"Let's have a party at the apartment tomorrow night, after the sections are all done. Editors only, obviously, not like there's anyone else on campus to bother with. I'll go on a liquor run right now since I've got the time."

Liam thought it over before saying, "If it's fine with Niall, it's fine with me."

Louis smiled and kissed Liam on the cheek. "You're the best!"

He quickly went over to the Sports desk. If he hadn't been in such a hurry to get an answer from Niall, he would've commented on how closely he and Josh were sitting. 

"Niall, man," he said, watching the two jump and immediately put space between them.

_Definitely need to talk to him later._

"What do you say? Party for the editors at our place tomorrow night after everyone's exported the pages?"

Niall doesn't even hesitate before saying "yes." 

"You're coming, right?" he asked Josh.

"Wouldn't miss it," Josh said, smiling at Niall.

_Alrighty then._

He turned to the office and whistled to get everyone's attention.

"Oi! Party at our place tomorrow night. Let's say 8ish. You should all be done the pages and unpacking and whatnot by then. Is that good?"

When the other editors agreed, Louis gave a thumbs-up before adding, "It's bring your own. So if you're still underage, text me what you want from the liquor store. I'm going now. Pay me back later. Now get back to your work. Thank you."

Louis grabbed his stuff, and noticed that Harry had the door to his office closed, meaning he probably hadn't heard the announcement.

He walked in, not bothering to knock. Harry had his headphones in, so he definitely hadn't heard.

Louis tapped him on the shoulder, making Harry jump.

"Jesus, Louis, do you have a habit of scaring people in here?" Harry asked, pulling his earbuds out of his ears.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Louis apologized, even though it was kind of funny that Harry was so easily scared. "Just wanted to let you know, we're having a party at the apartment tomorrow night, around 8. You should come."

"Sick. Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good," Louis said. "Do you need anything from the liquor store? I'm headed there now."

"Uh, just get me whatever you're getting. I'm not that picky, honestly."

"Cool, cool. So I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Absolutely."

Louis moved to leave the office.

"Hey, Louis?"

Louis turned around. 

"I'm sorry, it's just..." Harry started. "Are we ever gonna talk about, you know? What happened?"

_Fuck. No. This can't be happening. Nope. This won't happen._

Louis did not want to talk about it. He wanted to forget about it. Like it never happened. 

"What are you talking about?" Louis asked. As soon as he said it, he felt like an asshole, which was true. But Louis knew it was for the best.

If he kept telling himself that, he might actually start to believe it.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp.

"You know what? Never mind, I'll just see you tomorrow night." 

Harry put his headphones back in and faced his computer, effectively ending that conversation. 

As Louis walked out of the office and shut the door behind him, he told himself to avoid all mirrors for the rest of the day, because he definitely wasn't going to like the reflection that stared back at him. 


	5. I Get It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such a hard time writing this chapter! I didn't know what I wanted to happen, so I hope you're happy with what I wound up doing.  
> So there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. Because, it's a party. People talk at parties.  
> How do you like it so far? Comments? Kudos?

"You've never played Kings?" Louis asked Harry in shock. 

Louis may have already been a little buzzed, but he still didn't believe that his curly-haired coworker had never played Louis' favorite drinking game. 

"Well get ready, then," Louis said, handing his deck of cards to Eleanor. "Can you put the cards in the circle, El? I never can get it quite right."

As Eleanor set up the cards and the rest of the editors got their drinks ready, with Niall, Stan and Liam getting two drinks each, Louis explained the rules.

"When it's your turn, you pick up a card, and each card means something. If you pick a 2, pick someone to take a drink, and a 3 means that you drink. A 4? Last person to hit the floor drinks. A five is for guys to drink; six is for chicks to drink. Seven is the last person to reach toward the ceiling, or heaven, drinks. Eight means you pick a "date," and whenever you drink, your date drinks. Nine is pick a word and we go around the circle finding words to rhyme with it. Ten is Never Have I Ever; we only use three fingers because it goes faster. Jack is categories. Queen means you only talk in questions. A king means you make up a rule for the rest of the game. And Ace? Well that's waterfall. You can't stop drinking until the person in front of you stops drinking. Got it?"

Harry looks around the room, confused. Everyone else has played this game before, or some version of it, as some of them start arguing over the rules.

"All right, whatever," Liam interrupted. "Our apartment, our rules. Deal with it."

"I guess I'll figure it out as we go?" Harry asked. 

"Sure, man," Louis smirked. 

_Harry will be so drunk by the end of tonight._

By this point, everyone had gotten arranged into a circle around the coffee table in the living room. 

"Why don't you start, then?" Louis offered. 

Harry looked down at the circle before drawing out a card. 

"It's a seven," he said. "Wait, what does that mean?"

He looked up to see that everyone else already had both hands straight up in the air, smiling at him.

"Oh," he muttered. "I'll just drink, then."

Everyone started laughing then, and he couldn't help but join in. 

"My turn," said Dani, who was on Harry's left. She picked a 10.

"Ooh, Never Have I Ever. And so soon!"

Louis put three fingers up, along with everyone else. He was already plotting what he could say to get the most people out.

"Um..." Dani pondered. "Never have I ever... had sex in the back of a car."

Seven of the editors put down a finger, Louis included. He tried not to think too hard about it when Harry did, also. 

"Liam, your turn," Dani nudged.

"Never have I ever gone skydiving."

No one lowered a finger at that one.

"Oh, Liam," Niall sighed. "Always the cautious one."

"Fuck off, Niall, they don't all have to be about sex." 

Dani patted him on the shoulder as Niall shrugged.

"No, you're right, Liam," he said. "But it does make this game more fun."

It was Leigh-Anne's turn next.

"Never have I ever..." she started. Then she crossed her arms and smiled. "Come out of the closet."

Louis rolled his eyes. He lowered his index finger, leaving only his middle finger standing.

"Cute, Lou," she responded. 

He shrugged, looking at Harry and Josh copying him, each one only having one finger left. 

"Finally, my turn," Louis said. "Never have I ever kissed a girl."

He watched Harry out of the corner of his eye, wanting to see if Harry ever had.

"I'm out, then," Harry muttered, lowering his middle finger and taking a long swig of his beer. 

Louis didn't know if he liked that information or not, but whatever. This round was over. 

The game continued, moving around the circle one by one. Josh wound up picking Niall to be his date, who then picked Eleanor to be his date when 8's were drawn. Harry drank again because he was the last to hit the floor when he picked a 4. Perrie selected an Ace and started a waterfall that left everyone gasping for air when they were finally allowed to stop drinking. They also got very creative in rhyming the word "luck" when Stan chose a 9.

On his third turn, Harry selected the first King of the game.

"Oooh!" was heard from everyone.

"Harry, my man, make a rule for us," Jade said from her spot next to Eleanor. 

"Like what?" Harry asked, nervous about what to say.

The editors paused, not sure what rule they wanted to enforce. This rule could be literally anything, and some of the best ones were the most embarrassing.

"I know!" Jesy practically shouted. She moved to whisper in Harry's ear. He smiled and nodded at her.

_This is going against me, isn't it?_

"If anyone swears, they have to remove an article of clothing," Harry spoke in his impossibly slow tone.

Everyone laughed and looked at Louis, who now had a hand clapped over his mouth.

"Harry, I'll let you know a little secret," Perrie said. "This is the only way to get Louis to shut up for a little while. He has such a potty mouth."

"Really?" Harry smiled, looking back at Louis.

Louis shook his head, angrily.

_I hate everyone._

"Well, let's carry on, then. Dani? Go ahead," Harry stated.

At this point in the game, everyone had been drinking for a few hours. So while it shouldn't have been hard to refrain from swearing, it proved to be extremely difficult. Just five minutes after Harry made the rule, no one was wearing everything they had arrived to the apartment in. 

When there were only a few cards left, it was looking like everybody would at least avoid stripping down to their underwear. Until Stan picked another 7. 

"Fuck!" Louis yelled out. In his haste to get his hands in the air, his right knuckles hit the edge of the coffee table.

He shook his hand and massaged the sore spot before he noticed everyone staring at him expectantly. 

_Oh, no._

Louis looked down, sitting in only his jeans. He had lost the rest of his clothing because the more he drank, the harder it was for him to shut up. 

"Nice jeans, Louis," Liam smirked. "Why are they still on?"

"You can't be serious. There are only three cards left now. What's the point?"

"Hey, a rule's a rule," Harry slurred. He was definitely drunk. 

Louis stared, waiting for someone to excuse him from having to sit in his underwear. 

When no one did, he stood up.

"Fine, then. You're all a bunch of perverts, I knew it." 

Louis took off his jeans, standing straight up in just a pair of black Calvin Klein boxers. 

"Happy? Enjoying the show?" he posed and flexed his muscles, listening to the catcalls and whistles he received. 

Louis laughed and sat back down, crossing his legs Indian-style. He looked over at Harry, who was staring back at him. His eyes were glazed over, but the expression on his face still sent shivers up Louis' spine. 

The next two cards were tame enough, with a 5 and 6.

The final card was a 2 and it was chosen by Liam, who picked Josh to drink, meaning Niall and Eleanor had to drink, as well.

It was just after 1 in the morning, so some of the other editors decided to head back to their dorms. 

Louis went to his room to get dressed, opting for sweatpants instead of his jeans. When he returned to the living room, he found Liam, Harry, Dani and Perrie still drinking. Well, Liam wasn't, but Harry and the girls were. Louis grabbed another beer and joined them.

"Where's Niall?" he asked, looking around the room.

The others looked at each other before Perrie answered. 

"He's in his room."

It took him a minute before he realized why everyone else seemed nervous.

"He's with Josh, isn't he?" he sighed, taking a long drink.

It wasn't that he was completely against Niall being with Josh. He just didn't want to see Niall hurt again. Last year, when Josh broke up with him, Niall was a wreck. The little leprechaun was one of the happiest people that Louis has ever known, and after he and Josh split, Niall was quiet all the time. He didn't really laugh or joke at all, and he didn't eat much, which was the scariest part of the whole thing. Louis had never seen anybody eat as much as Niall and not gain weight. It was just who he was. 

"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked quietly. "I mean, if you want to tell me."

Liam and Louis exchanged a look, not really wanting to start. Liam then looked to Dani, who took a deep breath before starting.

"Basically, Niall and Josh hooked up for a little while, and then started dating for a few months last school year. I think they became official right before Thanksgiving break? But when they broke up, it was because Josh said that he didn't want to be in a relationship. And Niall took that really hard; thought it was something that he did to mess things up. But really, it wasn't his fault. Josh was just being an asshole. Niall was kind of quiet and didn't laugh as much as he always has, and it just hurt a lot to watch him go through it."

"That was just inside the office," Liam continued. "You girls didn't really see him outside of work. He didn't eat much, didn't want to play video games. Even his articles weren't up to his usual quality. It also didn't help that Niall and Josh were co-editors. They worked on the same section, at the same desk, with the same writers, on the same stories every single week. He almost quit the paper because of how uncomfortable he felt." 

Harry looked surprised at the information. Louis assumed it was because Harry knew that Niall always had a smile on his face and food in front of him. Also, Niall had a passion for writing sports, especially soccer. It would be hard to picture Niall doing anything else. 

"Luckily," Louis started, "Liam and I talked him out of that one. We told him that even though it was going to be awkward working with his ex, he shouldn't quit what he loves because he would only regret it."

He turned and looked Harry in the eye. "I told him that even though he wanted to date Josh _,_ his co-worker, it just wasn't going to work out. And that was OK, because there's plenty of other people out there for him."

_Please take the hint. Please._

It looked like Harry did, because he simply nodded before breaking the gaze. 

"Guess we'll just have to see what happens, then?" Liam asked Louis, who was now looking toward the center of the room. 

"Just have a lot of beer handy just in case." Perrie suggested to the two. 

The group was silent for a moment. 

"Anyway, a lighter topic?" Louis offered. "Classes? Who's dreading them?"

The group groaned and started talking about what classes they had and which professors they had. They stayed like that for another hour, just talking about whatever they came up with, the subject of Niall and Josh completely over with.

It was 2 o'clock when Dani stood up and stretched. 

"Alright, I need to leave. You two coming?" she asked Harry and Perrie. 

The two nodded and got up. 

"Whoa, man!" Perrie exclaimed when Harry stood, wobbling on his feet, almost losing his balance. "You alright?"

Harry nodded that he was fine, but his eyes didn't agree.

Liam looked him over before saying, "you're staying here tonight, dude."

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm fine to walk back to the dorms. It's not that far."

"Yeah, Liam," Louis agreed, "he can head back."

"Louis, are you nuts? If campus security finds him walking around like this, it won't be hard to find out where he came from. We're the only ones here, remember?"

Louis couldn't argue with that. Even a majority of the athletes didn't move in until tomorrow. And Harry was underage. Everyone could get in serious trouble for this. 

Liam guided Harry toward Zayn's room. "You can sleep in Zayn's room tonight. He'll be here tomorrow, but he won't mind."

Louis showed Dani and Perrie out. 

"Hope he feels better," Dani said. "He's probably gonna have a wicked hangover in the morning, though."

"Yeah, I'll let you guys know how he is when he wakes up," Louis responded. "Thanks for coming, by the way."

"Definitely; we have to do this more. It's our senior year!" Perrie replied.

Louis smiled at the girls, giving them each a hug. Of all the groups he had to fall in with at college, he was glad it was the newspaper staff.

The girls walked out of the apartment and Louis locked the door behind them. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, not wanting to go back to the mess that was awaiting him in the living room. 

He turned around to see Liam walking toward him.

"Do you feel like cleaning up now?" he asked.

"Not really," he answered without hesitation.

"Alright, me either. We can deal with it in the morning?"

"Sounds good. Night."

"Good night, man," Liam sighed. He walked into his room and shut the door. 

Louis turned and walked down the hallway to his room, walking past Zayn's, which still had the door open. 

He looked in to see Harry sitting on the bed, staring at the wall.

"You OK, dude?" he questioned.

Harry looked at him before answering. "I didn't know all of that about Niall. I get it now. I get why you didn't want anything to happen between us. We're all good."

Louis smiled. "Thanks, Harry. Get some sleep, alright?" 

He left the room without looking back. 

\---

The next week went by in a blur. Zayn moved in, so the four boys were finally reunited. Classes started back up, and for the first few days, Louis was in "serious student" mode, actually doing his first assignments and taking notes in class.

At Campus Awareness Day on Thursday, Liam forced Louis, Niall and Harry to join him at the  _Taylor Times_ table, so he wouldn't be handing out flyers and advertising the newspaper to the incoming freshmen alone with Dani. And it was good. There was no awkwardness between Louis and Harry, and Louis didn't even think about wanting to kiss Harry once. 

OK, maybe just once. 

Louis, Liam and Zayn asked Niall about Josh, and were reassured that it was nothing like last time. That Josh was different and had grown a pair and figured out what it was that he wanted - and he wanted Niall. 

The three were nervous about it, but told Niall to be careful and that they were there for him to talk about anything. 

So he wasn't surprised on Sunday night when he checked Facebook before he went to bed. 

 **"Niall Horan** is in a relationship with  **Josh Devine."**

_Well there it is. Here we go again._

He went to sleep, thinking the relationship update would be the talk of the office at tomorrow's newspaper meeting, the first official one of the semester. 

But he was horribly incorrect. He checked Facebook again when he woke up, and felt his stomach drop when he read, 

 **"Harry Styles** is in a relationship with  **Aiden Grimshaw."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know. Don't hate me for that.  
> Oh, and if those aren't the rules you play by when you play Kings, oh well. Those are the rules my friends and I use, so...


	6. One of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so I'm gonna play around with telling this story from different points of view. Just because it's more fun that way.

"So Harry, what's Aiden like?"

"Harry, how did it happen?"

"Does Aiden go to Taylor? I've never heard his name before."

"OK, whoa, whoa, let the man get a word in," Liam defended Harry against the girls in the office, who were just dying to know about Harry's new boyfriend. They had, of course, all seen the post on Facebook this morning, and wanted to know all of the details before they had to start their meeting. 

Harry smiled gratefully at Liam. When six girls bombarded you with questions, it could get a little overwhelming. 

"Fine, I'll start," Eleanor jumped in. "Harry, who's Aiden?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the door open, and Louis and Niall walked in.

"Boys, just in time!" Jade said. "We're hearing about Harry's new man!"

Louis glanced to the ground, before looking back up, right at Harry.

Harry saw Louis' eyes all the time, but they never stopped taking his breath away. They were bright blue in color, and reminded Harry of the water at the beach. Well, not the beaches in Jersey that Harry is used to. More like the crystal clear water in Hawaii, where Harry went on vacation with his family after he graduated high school. He could just stare at those eyes forever. 

"Oh, OK," Niall huffed. "I guess no one wants to hear about my relationship, then?"

He acted like he was offended, but everyone could tell he was just joking.

"Niall," Jesy rolled her eyes, "you can tell us all about it next. Alright?" 

He nodded his head stiffly. "That's more like it." He took his seat next to Josh and the two of them shared a cutesy glance. 

"Spill, Harry!" Perrie exclaimed. "Before Higgins and Teasdale get here."

Louis finally took his seat next to Harry, plopping down in his chair. 

 _What's his problem?_ Harry couldn't help but wonder.

"Um..." he started, "well Aiden was a guy that I went to high school with, but his family moved to Arizona after sophomore year. His grandmother was getting sick, and his parents wanted to be closer to her. But, I guess he was the first guy that I ever had feelings for."

The girls sighed in a group "awwww!"

Harry smiled before continuing. 

"I liked him, and we kept in touch for a little while after he left. It kind of fizzled out, though. You know, we both got busy and he was so far away. But then he moved back this summer, and I ran into him when I moved home in May. We caught up and he's still the same guy I knew in high school. We like the same movies and some of the same bands, so he's really easy to keep a conversation with."

"So how did it become official?" Dani asked.

"Well, we talked all summer, and at first, I guess I didn't know if he just wanted to be casual or anything. You know what I mean? Like, just hang out or whatever during the summer and go our separate ways when school started back up. But, toward the end of the summer, it looked like he did want something to happen. And he's been so great since I moved back here. We talk every day, and he was here on Saturday. That's when he asked me."

Louis shifted in his chair. While Harry was talking, he was mentally connecting the dots.

 _Harry said that he didn't know if it would be serious with Aiden at the start of the summer,_ Louis thought to himself.  _But toward the end, he thought it might be more serious? And he's still been talking to Aiden since he moved back to campus. And Aiden came to visit two days ago._

_If I didn't turn him down after the meeting in July, would Harry still have wanted to be with Aiden? And if Harry didn't hear all about the Niall/Josh thing after the party, would they have kept talking?_

Louis also thought back to when the editors were working on the mini issue. He remembered asking Harry how the rest of his summer went, and how Harry paused before answering the question. Louis thought that Harry was keeping something from him then; maybe Harry was hiding Aiden from him. 

_Did I lead Harry right to Aiden?_

"Well good for you, Harry," Leigh-Anne said. "He's a good guy, right?"

Harry nodded. "He's one of the best. Don't worry."

Louis could feel himself rolling his eyes, and made no move to even try to hide it. 

"OK, our turn, yeah?" Niall asked, rubbing his hands together.

He would have to hold that thought, however, because Dr. Higgins and Dr. Teasdale walked in, ready to start the editors' meeting. 

Liam started off by welcoming everyone back to what he knew would be an excellent year. And for the five senior editors - Louis, Perrie, Stan, Josh and himself - he couldn't wait to see what the year would bring.

After that, the News section started talking about what would be in their first full issue of the year, and Louis zoned out, as usual, only mildly annoyed that he couldn't pass the time with a game of hangman with the boy sitting next to him. 

\--- 

Zayn sat in his car outside of the dining hall on Tuesday night, laughing at a text from Perrie. 

He finally worked up the nerve to get her number after last night's meeting. For professional reasons, of course. He wanted to let her know when he got photos for her story for this week's issue. 

After sending back a reply, he got out of the car, walking inside of the building.

Of course, since he and the boys had a kitchen in their apartment, he wasn't actually going to Willard's, the dining hall, but to the campus diner that was attached. He and the boys were craving milkshakes after dinner, so Zayn volunteered to drive over and grab some.

He walked in the main doors and waved at the woman swiping IDs at the front desk. But before he moved to the left to enter the diner, he caught a flash of dark curls sitting alone at a table off to the right. 

 _Harry?_ he wondered. 

Instead of going into the diner, Zayn turned and walked down the hallway toward the bathrooms. When he was sure the card swiper wasn't looking, he snuck over to the cafeteria through the archway that led from the bathrooms to the main room. 

Since he didn't actually have a meal plan, he technically wasn't allowed in the dining hall. Oh well. It wasn't like he would be eating anything there. 

"Hey boss," he said, sitting down at the table with Harry. "You here by yourself?"

Harry looked up, startled by the sudden company.

"Hi, Zayn. Did you just call me boss?"

"Yeah, man," Zayn replied easily. "You're the editor, I'm not. You're kind of my boss."

Harry blushed. "Not really. You're still older than I am."

Zayn smirked. "Uhh, yeah, really. Anyway, you never answered my question."

"Oh, sorry," Harry apologized. "Uh, yeah, I'm alone. My roommate's at night class right now. And I had to submit an assignment to my professor by 9:00 tonight, so I didn't eat earlier. And no one else wanted to come out. So here I am."

Zayn looked at the plate in front of Harry and asked, "What are you eating?"

Harry laughed. "I tried to make a Belgian waffle, but the iron messed up, and didn't cook it all the way or something. Half of it got stuck in the iron, and I had to hack it out with a butter knife. It wasn't pretty."

"Yeah, been there, man," Zayn muttered. "Just hit the diner, get food there."

"I would, but I can't," Harry sighed. "My Dining Dollars haven't gone through yet. I paid tuition late, so it's taking some time for everything to get processed. And I'm not using my own money to pay for anything."

Dining Dollars were included with tuition, and it was basically money to pay for food at the diner, campus coffee shops or Trailblazer's, the school's restaurant/convenience store. It was meant for students to use when they didn't have time to go to the dining hall. Or, for students like Zayn, for students who didn't feel like cooking in their own kitchens. 

Zayn just nodded his head. "Got it. Come on, dump that shit. Let's go."

"Go where?" Harry asked hesitantly. 

"Diner. I'll spot you this time, man. You can come hang with us in the apartment for a little while, too, if you want. You look like you could use a round of FIFA."

"No, I couldn't ask you to pay for me, Zayn. I'm fine. Really."

"Well you're not asking, I'm offering. Let's go," Zayn started walking away from the table, leaving Harry no choice but to follow, dumping his picked over food in the trash on the way out. 

The boys walked into the diner, and stopped at the kiosk to place their order. Zayn ordered four different milkshakes and asked Harry to put in his order.

"Zayn, are you sure? You really don't have to."

"Harry." Zayn rolled his eyes. "You're part of the newspaper, you need to realize that you're one of us now. We stick together. Part of that whole 'newspaper is a dying media' bullshit and all that. It's us against the world. You can buy me something when your money comes through. And in the meantime, consider this to be me sucking up to get better photo assignments."

He raised his eyebrows at Harry and smiled. 

"Now, order."

Harry grinned and ordered a cheesesteak and fries.

"No milkshake, man? Come on."

Harry then ordered a chocolate milkshake before tapping 'Done' on the screen.

A receipt printed out and Zayn took it to the register to pay, and the two sat and waited for the food and shakes to be done. 

"It'll be fun walking back to the apartment carrying all this stuff," Harry said.

Zayn just stared at him. "Who said anything about walking?"

"Did you drive here?" Harry asked.

"Of course I did. What's the point of having a parking lot next to your building if you still have to walk across campus for a milkshake?"

 _He's got a point there._ Harry thought. 

Ten minutes later, they were walking out to Zayn's car, a black pickup truck.

"I like the truck," Harry complimented, getting in the passenger seat.

"Thanks, man," Zayn replied. "Hope you don't mind, but since you're here, can you hold the shakes?" 

He handed the cardboard carrier to Harry, who placed his own shake in the cup holder next to him.

"Got it," he said, putting his food on the floor by his feet.

Zayn backed out of the spot, headed toward his building. What would have been a ten-minute walk was barely a two-minute drive. 

"By the way, I'll drive you back to your dorm later on tonight. You won't have to walk," Zayn said. 

"You must have read my mind, man," Harry responded truthfully.

Zayn just grinned.

The two arrived in the parking lot, getting out of the car, very careful not to spill or drop anything. 

Zayn swiped his ID at the entrance and they walked in the building, taking the elevator up to the third floor. Yes, this place had an elevator. 

"I want to live here when I'm a senior," Harry said. "This place is awesome."

"Yeah, I heard you slept in my room after the party?" Zayn asked. 

Harry nodded, remembering how hungover he had been the morning after.

"Well thanks for not puking everywhere, man. I appreciate it."

The elevator reached the third floor by then, and the two turned right and walked down the hallway. Zayn entered the apartment, the door having been left unlocked.

Harry was met with a lot more noise than the last time he had been here, even though there was less than half the number of people. 

Some Kanye West song was playing from a stereo in the living room, and Niall and Liam were shouting at each other while they played FIFA. 

"Go, go, go!" Liam yelled. "Niall, back off, I've got this."

"You got nothing, Payne, watch this."

A few seconds later, Niall was yelling "GOOOAAALLLLLLL!"

He dropped his controller and started jumping on the couch. "I told you! You got nothing on me, man! Nothing!" Liam just groaned and rubbed his eyes.

Harry started laughing at the boys' actions, while Zayn just looked on, as if this was nothing new.

"Oi!" Zayn shouted out. Liam and Niall turned, surprised to see Harry standing in the apartment, as well.

"Milkshakes?" Zayn offered. "And I picked up a straggler on the way back. I'm assuming that's cool with you guys."

"Course it is," Liam said, nodding at Harry. "What's up, man?"

"Nothing much. I see you redecorated a little." 

Harry was talking about the black futon that was now in the living room, in addition to the couch and two armchairs.

"Yeah, Zayn brought that up with him when he moved in," Niall acknowledged. "It was in your dad's den, right?"

Zayn nodded. "That's right." He looked at the shakes in his hands. 

"Chocolate for Niall, Vanilla for Liam." He handed out the drinks to the boys.

"Lou! Get out here!" He yelled toward the bedrooms.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Louis answered from somewhere in the apartment.

Harry sat down on the futon, setting his food down on the coffee table in front of him.

"Do you have any-?" he started to ask, but was cut off as Liam handed him some paper towels and a paper plate to put his food on.

Harry thanked Liam and started to eat. From his seat, he saw Louis exit his room, and he almost choked on his first bite.

Louis had just gotten out of the shower, as his hair was still wet. And he was shirtless, wearing only a pair of loose fitting, gray sweatpants. He remembered seeing Louis shirtless before, at the party the boys held after they finished the mini issue. But in his drunken haze, Harry hadn't actually committed his appearance to memory. 

Harry had seen some of Louis' tattoos before, of course, but only the ones across his lower arm. There were a few that he hadn't seen yet. Specifically, the heart and stag on his right shoulder and the two on his chest... his very muscular chest. 

Harry couldn't stop his gaze from moving down and seeing Louis' defined abs, as well.

 _Where have you been hiding those, Louis?_ Harry thought to himself.

Louis took his cup from Zayn, still not noticing that Harry was there.

He took a drink, seeming to struggle a bit with the straw.

"The Oreos are too big," he commented on his cookies & cream milkshake. "I might as well use a spoon."

He tried again, this time, putting his mouth farther down and hollowing out his cheeks because of how hard he was trying to get the cookies up the straw. 

Harry only imagined how Louis' mouth would look doing the same thing to his dick.

 _What the fuck?_ Harry thought to himself. He shook his head, wanting to get that out of his head.

Louis looked over now, finally seeing that Harry was in his apartment. 

"You don't live here," he said sarcastically. It wasn't in rude way, more like a confused way.

"Yeah, man, I found him in Willard's sitting at a table by himself." Zayn said. "He looked like he could use some FIFA time."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, hope that's cool."

"Sure, why not?" Louis smiled. "Welcome back to our humble abode." 

Louis sat on the couch. "Niall, I see you won this game. We're playing next, let's go."

"Sweet!" Niall yelled. "I love winning two games in a row."

"Yeah, whatever, shithead. Let's see how that goes for you."

Harry took another bite of his cheesesteak. He felt a vibration in his pocket.

He took out his cell phone and saw a new text from Aiden. 

 _ **Aiden: I hate homework. These math problems are going to take me all night.** _

Harry smiled at the phone. Math was never Aiden's strong subject. 

 _ **Harry: Just take it one at a time. Remember, they all follow the same process, just with different numbers. Skype later?** _

_**Aiden: Yes! Maybe an hour?** _

Harry looked up to find Louis looking over at him. But he blinked once and Louis was suddenly very focused on the television.

_**Harry: Don't rush. Just let me know when you're done. It's still early.** _

He sent back his reply.

On the couch, Louis tried not to watch too much as Harry was on his phone, not wanting to know what he was saying, although he knew exactly who Harry was talking to. 

But he had to focus now, because the game had started, and Niall already had the ball. And that just wouldn't do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... Interesting. What do you think?  
> Chapter 7 is already done. It will be posted tomorrow!  
> In the mean time, comments?


	7. Start It Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!  
> Also, 300+ hits on this story?? Thank you so much!  
> Glad you're enjoying it!!

The next day, Louis sat at his desk in the newspaper office. It was quiet, as it had just hit the 7:00 stretch. 

All of the editors were completely focused on their sections, making edits, placing photos, creating headlines and adjusting layouts. 

Louis himself had just finished all of those things, and only had to find a cartoon for this week's issue and he would be done. For the most part, anyway. As always, he had to wait for Liam and Dani to find any mistakes in the pages for him to fix.

As he scrolled through the website that the paper used for cartoons, he felt himself getting more annoyed with each tap of the space bar. Most of the cartoons were related to politics in some way, a subject that Louis honestly couldn't give a rat's ass about. 

It didn't help that he didn't know what kind of cartoon he wanted to use. Usually, he would find a cartoon that could relate to a story in any of the sections. So far, he had searched 'back to school' and 'fall weather.' He thought about what was in the other sections this week, and remembered that the soccer team had won their first two games of the season.

He typed 'soccer' in the search bar and looked to find anything that was even remotely interesting.

When he finally found one, he saved it and wrote down the size of the space where it would be going. Then he got up and walked toward Harry's office.

Whenever Louis had a cartoon or a photo to run in the Opinion section, which was uncommon, it would need to be edited by the Photo editor so that the right colors or pixelations or whatever would come through on the page. It was something that needed to be done in PhotoShop, which Louis had no idea how to use. It was probably something that he could learn how to do, but he just didn't feel like it.

He opened the door and walked into the small room, not bothering to knock, of course. 

Harry didn't have his headphones in this time, so he didn't jump when Louis entered. Instead, he just turned and smiled.

"What's up?" he asked.

_Stop fucking smiling at me, Styles._

"Hey, man," he answered instead, "I have a cartoon that's running this week. Just wondering if you can edit it for me?"

"Sure thing," he replied, taking the piece of paper with the sizes on it.

He looked it over before saying, "I'll have it done in a few minutes."

Louis thanked him and was about to leave the office, but he closed the door instead.

"Actually, can I talk to you for a second?"

Harry looked at him. He had a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, are you OK?"

"Not really," Louis sighed."Um..."

Louis wanted to get this over with quickly. Clearly that would not be happening tonight. 

"It's just, ever since you started working here, I've been nothing but an asshole. And I know that I told you that I come off that way, but I never intended to prove it to you every single day. Do you know what I mean?"

Harry didn't look like he understood. In fact, he was looking at Louis like he was speaking another language and his skin had just turned purple. 

"OK, start over," Louis said. "Basically, I blew you off after I made out with you in the office after our summer meeting, and that was a dick move."

Harry blushed and looked down at his hands. "Louis, you don't have to-"

"And I'm sorry," Louis apologized, cutting Harry off. "Like I said, I didn't mean to make you think I was a total prick before the school year even officially started. So, I guess I was hoping we could start over and be friends. For real, this time."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, alright. So no more hook ups in the office?"

Louis laughed. "Right, no more of that. Besides, you're taken now."

"You're right, I am! And sorry to say, Aiden would probably kick your ass if you tried anything now."

"I don't think so," Louis said. "You've seen my muscles, I could take him."

Harry pretended to ponder this for a minute. "No, sorry. He would lay you out. He used to be kind of scrawny, but he's gotten really strong over the past couple years."

Louis already knew how scrawny Aiden used to be. He may have spent some time Facebook stalking Aiden last night. 

May have.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Curly. Let me know when my cartoon is ready."

Louis opened the door and walked back out to his desk, leaving Harry to sit and wonder what the fuck just happened.

\---

On Thursday, Harry finished editing the final photos for the day. It was just after 6:00, and he hoped he would be done early tonight. He had a lot of homework to catch up on. 

He took out his phone to text Aiden. He hadn't talked to him all day.

 _ **Harry: Babeeeee. I'm bored at work. Entertain me.**  _

A moment later, a response came.

 _ **Aiden: Haha. Sorry! I told you to bring your homework with you.**  _

Harry frowned. Aiden was right, of course. But he wasn't going to tell him that.

 _ **Harry: I did. I couldn't concentrate with all the noise.**  _

That was a total lie. The office was completely quiet, with everyone trying to get his or her work finished before the staff-appointed deadline of 10 p.m. Thursdays were always tense in the office. 

_**Aiden: Ugh, that blows. Sorry, babe. =(** _

_**Aiden: Are you almost done?**  _

Harry rolled his eyes. Of course he wasn't almost done. 

 _ **Harry: Not yet. The photos are done for now, but I have to stay until all the sections are finished, just in case there's anything wrong with the pictures. I have to be here to fix them before the pages get sent to the printer.**  _

He sent back his response, wishing he lived closer to the office. He  _could_  go to his dorm, grab a few of his assignments and come back. At least he would feel more productive.

His dorm was at the front of campus, though. It was nice that he was close to the dining hall, but sucked that he was far from everything else. 

 _ **Aiden: You have to stay all day? How is that fair?**_   **  
**

Harry had his reply ready.

_**Harry: It doesn't seem like it's fair, but it is, honestly. For the mini issue, one of the photos wasn't in the right color. If we had sent it to the printer, there would have been a blank spot instead of a photo.** _

_**Harry: It's really a precaution. It's just easier than me going home and thinking that I'm done and then having to come all the way back to fix one thing.**  _

He waits a few minutes. When Aiden hasn't answered yet, Harry texts him again.

 _ **Harry: So how was your day? Did you hand in that math homework from the other night?**  _

They go on for about an hour, texting back and forth while Aiden worked on his homework, and Harry scrolled through Facebook and random news web sites. 

_**Aiden: Sorry babe, I gotta go. Mom's calling me for dinner. And you know how she is about phones at the table. =)** _

Harry grins. He thinks back to a time in high school when he was at Aiden's for dinner. Aiden's sister had her phone in her lap. When it went off, their mother grabbed it and chucked it down the hallway. 

It didn't break or anything, but it did bounce a few times as it hit the carpet. It was pretty funny to say the least.

 _ **Harry: Gotcha. Talk to you later. ;)**  _

Harry put his phone back on the desk, right back to where he started. 

Then, he remembered what he could do.

He got up and stretched before leaving his office, finding his way to the chair next to Louis' desk.

Louis had his head down, using his arms as a pillow. He didn't move until Harry collapsed in the seat and sighed. Loudly.

He peeked an eye up to see Harry leaning back, looking up at the ceiling.

"What's up, man?" he asked, stretching his arms up and letting out a yawn.

"Nothing. I'm just ready to go. All the photos are done. Did the cartoon come out OK?"

Louis nodded his head. "Yup, thanks. My pages are all set. I'm just waiting for Liam to let me leave. He told me an hour ago that I'd probably be done by..."

He looked at the clock. "... Now."

"Shut up, Louis," Liam called from across the room, where he was looking at the News pages with Leigh-Anne and Stan. 

"How does he always hear me?" Louis thought out loud.

"Hate to break it to you," Harry began, "but you're not as quiet as you think you are, Louis."

"You don't say?" Louis asked. "Never would have thought that."

Harry just shook his head. 

Louis shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he continued, "Niall is getting the new FIFA when it comes out on Tuesday. We're gonna hang out, probably order pizza or something and just tournament the shit out of it. You should come."

Harry thought about how much work he had that was due next week. It might be possible to get it all done - if he stayed in his room all weekend. 

Louis looked at Harry. 

_He's thinking of a way to say no. Shit._

He cleared his throat. "I mean, you don't have to come if you don't want. I just wanted to invite you. You know, since we're friends and all now. But you don't have to come."

He spoke the last sentence so quietly, he wasn't sure if Harry had even heard it.

"No, I'll be there," Harry said. "I was just planning out when to do my homework. Don't want to fall behind. I wouldn't miss it."

Louis couldn't hold back his smile. "Great, yeah. Let's say 8?"

"Sounds good to me. I need a rematch against Niall. I'm gonna kick his ass this time."

"No you won't!" Niall yelled from his desk. 

Harry looked at Louis, who smiled.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are, either," Louis said. 

The two boys burst into laughter. 

Liam walked over then. 

He looked between them and said, "If you two have quite finished..."

This only started them laughing again. 

Liam rolled his eyes and waited a moment for the two of them to calm down. 

"Anyway," he started once they were done, "Louis, just make these edits and print out the page one more time for us to see?"

"Aye-aye, captain," Louis mocked, putting on a serious face. 

Liam turned and walked back to his desk, but not before giving Louis a smack to the side of his head.

"Ouch," Harry winced. "That looked like it hurt."

"Not really," Louis defended. "No matter how big Liam's biceps get, he'd never actually hurt me. No matter how much I annoy him."

Harry knew that was true. Even from the limited amount of time he had spent with Liam, Harry could tell that he cared a lot about the people in his life, the newspaper staff included and especially Louis, Niall and Zayn. Liam actually hurting one of them would be like Liam kicking a wounded puppy. It just wouldn't happen. 

As Louis made the changes to his section, Harry looked to the back of the room where Niall and Josh were sitting. He couldn't help but envy their relationship. They got to see each other every day and just, be together. 

Harry knew that a long-distance relationship would be tough, but he didn't realize it would be this hard. He had seen Aiden less than two weeks ago, but it felt like so much longer. Even though Aiden was at home, only a little more than an hour away, he might as well have still been in Arizona for how much he would be seeing him in the coming months. 

Harry didn't have his car on campus, so it was up to Aiden to come down to Taylor to see him. And with school, work and everything else going on in their lives, the boys hadn't been able to find a weekend for him to come visit. 

It was looking like he wouldn't be able to get down here until October. Hopefully.

Harry watched as the boys sat, heads together. They weren't really doing anything, just whispering to each other back and forth. Niall's eyes lit up at something that he said, and he attempted to stifle a laugh. He failed, but it was still sweet to watch. When that happened, Josh just smiled, like he didn't know how he was so lucky. 

_You make me sick._

Harry knew that was a little bitter, but he didn't care. He just wanted someone to share looks like that with. And not through his computer screen on Skype.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Louis joked.

Harry broke his gaze and looked to Louis. He put a smile on his face. 

"Sorry, must've zoned out for a minute," he muttered. 

"Uh-huh, sure," Louis replied, with a sympathetic smile. He stood up and walked over to retrieve his pages from the printer. 

Harry sighed and leaned back in his seat, wishing it could just be October. 

\---

Tuesday nights quickly became FIFA night. Harry went every week, and Josh would usually show up, too. 

After a few weeks, some of the other editors would go, too. Perrie and Dani were there most of the time. They didn't play, just hung out with the boys. 

It was strange, Harry always thought to himself. Tuesday night was the night during the week that the editors didn't have to go to the office, saving their work for Wednesdays and Thursdays. It would make sense that the group would take the night off, and distance themselves from their coworkers so that they didn't get on each other's nerves.

But that wasn't the case for them. They didn't mind hanging out together every day during the week. It was just more fun. 

One Tuesday night in early October, Harry got to the apartment building a little late. He had a meeting for a group project in one of his classes, and he could already tell he would be the member doing the most work. 

As he got off the elevator, he could hear the noise from the hallway that told him that it was a packed house tonight.

He felt his phone start to vibrate in his pocket.

_Probably Louis wondering where I am._

The two of them had become actual friends lately, Harry had noticed. 

Now that the awkwardness of their office hook-up was forgotten, Harry let himself relax around Louis, finding that the two actually had a lot in common. 

They were both close with their families, even though Louis' was much larger than Harry's. They both liked to play soccer, although Harry wasn't coordinated enough to be considered good at it.

They had even gotten over being from opposite sides of New Jersey. And that's saying something. They did, however, have their disagreements over how certain words were pronounced. That was something that they would probably never get past.

Harry looked at his phone, and he was wrong.

It wasn't Louis that was calling, it was Aiden. 

Harry had talked to Aiden earlier today, so Harry didn't know why he was calling now. 

After a moment of debate, he put his phone back in his pocket, letting the call go to voicemail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well ok, then!  
> Chapter 8 will be posted sometime this weekend.  
> What do you think is gonna happen next?  
> <3


	8. Surprise Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm posting this really late. Sorry!  
> It's not my fault, though. I have this habit of planning out plot points way before I need to. So I already have stuff written that won't be happening for a couple months (in the story). But that's a good thing, I guess?  
> And sorry for the serious stuff toward the end. But it was entirely necessary.  
> Anyway, the story's a little longer than usual. Hope that makes up for the wait!

Harry entered the apartment, the door unlocked, as usual.

He greeted and gave hugs to Eleanor and Leigh-Anne, who were chatting in the kitchen. He talked to them for a few minutes before walking into the living room. 

"HAZZA!!" he felt his heart jump at the shouting of his new nickname.

"Hi, Louis," he answered back, finding the older boy on the couch. 

"You're just in time to watch me kick Zayn's ass," he grunted out as his fingers moved quickly over the controller. "Come on, sit down. You don't want to miss it."

Harry examined the room, evaluating where there was actually room to sit.

Zayn sat next to Louis on the couch, and Perrie was lounging on his other side. Niall and Josh were cuddled up on the futon, and Liam and Dani sat side by side in the armchairs, looking at something on Liam's phone. 

Harry decided on the arm of the sofa, which is where he usually would be if everyone else was all paired off. 

He sat down on the side next to Louis, bringing his right leg up onto the edge of the couch and stretching out his left leg, supporting himself.

"Hey," Louis greeted again, this time leaning his shoulder into Harry's leg. 

"Come on, Lou, focus," he laughed.

"I got it, don't worry. Get ready for this play."

Harry watched Louis' player fake out Zayn's player and move the ball right around him. 

_That didn't seem that hard._

He snuck a peek at his photographer friend and realized that Zayn actually looked a bit nervous. 

Zayn was sitting completely straight up and his fingers weren't moving nearly as fast as Louis' were. He kept biting his lower lip, too. 

Then Harry looked to Zayn's right, and saw Perrie sitting rather closely to him. Their knees were touching, but Perrie looked completely comfortable, leaned back against the cushions, like this was something that happened all the time. 

"Oh, yeah!" Louis yelled suddenly.

Harry looked at the screen to see that Louis' team had won the game. 

While Louis stands up and raises both fists in the air, Perrie wraps an arm around Zayn, giving him a light squeeze. 

Zayn didn't look that upset over losing, but he definitely looked thrilled at the hug.

_Well OK, then._

"Here you go," Louis said, handing the controller over to Harry. "You're up. Liam, you said you wanted to play next?"

"Yup, on it." Liam and Louis switched spots so that Liam could see the screen better. 

Before Harry started to pick his team, he took his phone out of his pocket and set it down on the coffee table. He didn't notice the second or third missed call from Aiden. 

Eleanor and Leigh-Anne had entered the room by now, not wanting to miss Harry play the game, as he very rarely played.

When the boys were all set to start, Louis asked, "Harry? You have someone named Jake calling you. Who's that?"

Harry looked down at his phone. "That's my roommate. Hang on a sec?"

He put down his controller and answered the phone, walking toward the kitchen, where it was quiet.

"Hey, man, what's up?" he asked. Jake never called, only texted. This must be important. 

"Hey, Harry, guess your phone is working, then," Jake started.

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Well... Aiden's here. He said he called you a couple times."

"Wait, what?" he said, probably a little louder than necessary.

He could feel several sets of eyes staring at him as he walked out of the apartment and into the hallway, but he didn't care.

"What's going on? Is he OK?"

"Here, ask him yourself," Jake said.

A second passed, and then, "Hi, Harry."

It was really him. Aiden was actually on Harry's campus. With his roommate. He was there. And Harry wasn't. He felt like such a shit boyfriend.

"Aiden!" Harry exclaimed. "What-? How-? You're here!" 

He had some trouble forming a complete sentence. Why was Aiden here? 

"Yeah, I am here," Aiden responded. "Sorry I just showed up, but I did try to call."

"I'm so glad you're here. Stay there, I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"OK, see you soon, then."

Harry hung up the phone, leaning back against the door. Aiden was here. He would actually get to see and hold his boyfriend for the first time in a month. 

He walked back into the apartment. Louis was rifling through the fridge.

He turned and saw the look on Harry's face before asking, "everything alright? You had us worried there for a second."

"Yeah, I'm great," Harry answered. "Aiden's here."

Louis felt his heart stop. 

"Oh," he said. 

 _Oh? Oh?!_ Louis thought to himself.  _That's all you can say? Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"I know! I'm as surprised as you are!" Harry said with a huge smile on his face. "I just didn't think I would be seeing him yet. We still never found a time for him to come down, and now, he's just... _here._ "

Louis paused for a moment.

_Don't say it. Don't do it. Don't. Don't._

"So is he coming over here? You know we have to meet him." 

_WHY did you say that?_

Harry blinked. "Um, sure. I mean, I didn't think-" he started. 

Louis waited as Harry collected his thoughts. 

"What am I talking about?" Harry finally said. "Of course he has to meet all of you. Yeah, I'll go get him. He's at my room."

"That'll take forever," Louis sighed. "Let's go, I'll drive you over. I can finally put a face to the name I've been hearing all this time."

_What are you doing? I hate you. I hate you. Hate. Hate. Hate._

Louis shook his head, getting rid of his own thoughts. "I'll grab my keys, hang on."

He walked into the living room and told his roommates that he would be right back. None of them seemed to care too much. He entered his room and grabbed his stuff before walking out with Harry.

The boys walked down the stairs in silence, but Louis felt like Harry could hear how fast his heart was racing. 

He was actually going to meet Aiden. He would be able to meet the boy who had Harry's heart. He couldn't help but wonder how the two of them would compare.

They got into Louis' red four-door sedan and they made their way toward Harry's dorm. 

Louis pulled up in front of the five-story building and put his hazard lights on so he wouldn't get a parking ticket for being stopped in front of a residential hall. 

They got out of the car and walked in the front entrance after Harry swiped his ID. 

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, Louis felt like he might actually faint. He didn't think he was ready for this. 

Harry unlocked the door to his room and they walked in.

Louis first saw a boy who was possibly a few inches taller than Harry - if that was even possible - with black hair, wearing a Taylor University sweatshirt. 

_OK, that's probably not him._

He then saw a second boy wearing a gray long sleeve shirt, jeans and a black beanie. Light brown hair peeked out from underneath it. 

_That's probably him._

"Hi!" Harry exclaimed. He rushed over to hug the boy in the beanie, proving Louis right. 

Louis took a moment to examine Aiden. 

He was just a tiny bit shorter than Harry, with big brown eyes and a defined jawline.

When Aiden smiled at Harry, Louis noticed that it was a very wide one. 

 _All teeth, I guess._ Louis thought to himself. 

He tore his eyes away from Harry and Aiden and saw the other boy in the room. The one who was staring at Louis.

He cleared his throat and extended his hand. "You must be Jake? I'm Louis."

Jake nodded his head, shaking Louis' hand. "That's right. I've heard about you before. You work with Harry, right?"

Jake's voice was deeper than Harry's, and that was pretty impressive. His black hair was trimmed into a buzz cut and his gray eyes caught the light at just the right angle. 

_Are all the underclassmen just really hot this year?_

"Nice eyes," he commented. He mentally kicked himself because he didn't mean to say that out loud. 

"Yours aren't so bad, either," Jake replied.

_Did I really say that? Did he really just say that?_

"You never answered my question, though."

Louis smiled. "Right, sorry. Uh, yeah, I'm the Opinion Editor. I basically get to rant about things in the editorial every week."

"Oh yeah, I've read those. You're pretty funny, you know."

"Well thank you. I do my best with what I have."

"Yeah, you sure look like it," Jake said, eyeing Louis up and down. 

_Well I could get used to this._

At that moment, Louis heard Harry say, "So it's FIFA night. Do you want to go back to Louis'?"

"Shit, I forgot it's Tuesday," Aiden apologized. "I really should've talked to you first, huh?"

"No, it's fine, I'm glad you're here tonight. You can meet my friends when we're not all stressed out with the paper and worrying about deadlines and everything. Let's go over for a little while and we can go to the diner later? Grab some food?"

Aiden nodded at the plan.

"Jake," Louis started, "if you're free right now, you should come with us back to my apartment. A bunch of the other editors are there, playing FIFA. We ordered pizza and we're having a couple beers. You should come."

Jake looked at his desk. "I mean... my night class got cancelled tonight, so I should really catch up on my shit. But your idea sounds like way more fun. Let's go."

Louis grinned. 

"Well let's go, then. My car's out front." 

The four boys left the room, Jake locking the door behind them. 

\---

Two hours later, Louis sat next to Jake on the couch, playing a match against each other. 

Eleanor, Leigh-Anne, Dani and Perrie had already left, leaving just the boys. 

Louis was glad that both Aiden and Jake fit in so easily. From the moment they walked in the door, it was like they had been there the whole time. 

They fit in a little too easily, though. Louis was losing the game. His team was down by one point, but at least he had the ball. 

His fingers moved expertly across the controller, knowing that the clock was running out. His player ran toward the net, avoiding getting the ball stolen from him. 

His player passed, getting closer to scoring range. 

He kicked the ball, sending it toward the net, and then -

Blocked.

_What? Wait._

Louis lost the game, the score 5-4, in Jake's favor. 

"No way!" he yelled. "Rematch!"

"Louis! I'm a little ashamed of you right now," Niall snickered from the futon. 

"Getting a little rusty there, man?" Liam mocked. 

"As much as I would love to, Louis, I need to head back to my dorm," Jake said. "I really do have a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, how convenient," Louis muttered.

"Don't worry, you can play me again next time."

"And there will be a next time!"

"I'm counting on it," Jake whispered in Louis' ear. 

Louis blushed, looking to see if anyone else had noticed it. But it was like the two were in their own world. 

"We're gonna head out, too," Harry said. "The diner is calling us."

Harry, Aiden and Jake stood up, headed to the door. 

"Oh, before you go," Zayn started, "I'm having a Halloween party at my uncle's house down in Cherry Hill. It'll be on the 26th. It's a Saturday. Invite who you want, there's plenty of room."

Louis remembered just how much room there was. At last year's party, there were at least a hundred people in attendance. There was a DJ, a pool and a lot of bedrooms. 

Louis recalled finding one bedroom and hooking up with a dark-haired boy he had met at the party, who turned out to be Zayn's cousin.

Whoops.

"Jake, Aiden, that means that you're both invited," Liam stated. 

"You guys are all going?" Jake asked, looking at Louis before glancing at the other boys.

"Yeah, I think all of the editors are going," Zayn answered.

"Then I wouldn't miss it," Jake said with a smile. 

"Should be fun," Aiden agreed.

"Awesome," Zayn nodded. 

With that, Harry, Aiden and Jake left.

"See you tomorrow, guys!" Harry called out as the door shut behind them. 

"So what do we think?" Liam asked as soon as he locked the door.

"Of...?" Louis responded.

"Aiden! Do we like him?"

Louis hesitated. Aiden seemed like a nice enough guy. He was funny, good-looking and he really looked at Harry like he was the fucking Sun. But...

_But what?_

Louis didn't let himself finish that thought. "Yeah, I like him," he said instead.

"Seems like he treats Harry right," Zayn agreed. "Sucks at FIFA, though."

"Well that's why they're good for each other, I guess," Niall commented. 

Louis could only nod his head.

\---

Across campus, Harry and Aiden were at the diner, sharing an order of cheese fries and drinking milkshakes. 

"So..." Harry began. "I'm thrilled to see you here. Finally, it's been so long. But why the sudden visit?"

Aiden ducked his head, not wanting to answer.

"What's wrong, Aiden?" Harry asked.

"Am I that obvious?" 

"A little bit, yeah."

Aiden took a long drink from his shake before saying anything.

"Um-" he started. His voice shook a little bit.

"Aiden, you're starting to scare me. What happened?"

"My parents are getting a divorce," he blurted out.

Harry was surprised. He thought back to Aiden's parents in middle and high school. The two of them were so happy together. Harry was always jealous of them whenever he thought of his own parents being divorced. 

"What happened?" he asked.

Aiden just shook his head. "They said that they were just drifting apart. That it's been coming for a few years now, but with my grandma being sick and moving around, they just didn't want to admit it."

Harry grabbed Aiden's hand.

"But don't worry, they made sure to tell me and my sister that it's not our fault, and they still love us," he added bitterly.

"I'm so sorry. I can't believe this. They've been together for so long."

"Twenty-four years!" Aiden said. "They've been married for 24 years, and knew each other for four years before that. This is bullshit."

"How did Libby take it?" Harry asked about Aiden's younger sister. 

Aiden rolled his eyes. "She's just peachy. It didn't faze her at all. You know what her first words were? After they told us?"

Harry waited as Aiden wiped a tear from his eye.

"She said, 'Guess I can have my phone at the dinner table now.' Can you believe her? A marriage of 24 years is over, and all she cares about is having her fucking phone at dinner time."

Harry shut his eyes. Libby always could be a little selfish.

"That just set me off. I didn't want to say anything I would regret later, so I just got in my car and drove. I didn't realize I was coming here until I was almost off the highway."

Harry opened his eyes again.

_That must've been the first time Aiden called, to let me know he was almost here. And I ignored it. I fucking hate myself._

"So I just parked in that visitor's lot I was in when I came to see you the first time," Aiden continued. "And I walked to your dorm. You're lucky it's right across from the dining hall, otherwise I would've gotten lost on this campus."

_And he called again to let me know that he was parked, and a third time to tell me he was at my room. I'm the worst boyfriend ever._

"I'm so sorry, Aiden," Harry repeated, but now for a different reason. "I didn't hear my phone going off. It was just so loud in Louis' apartment."

"No, it's fine," Aiden said. "I got to actually talk to Jake. I didn't really speak to him last time I was here. He was only around for a few minutes. And I got to meet your friends. I see why you love them so much."

"Yeah, they're pretty great. And you didn't even meet all of them. There were a few that were missing tonight."

"That's alright, I guess I can meet them at Zayn's party?"

"I suppose so," Harry said. "I'm so glad you're coming to that, by the way. Apparently Zayn's parties are always really crazy. His uncle is some rich sports agent or something, so his house is huge. Should be a blast."

"Should we be those people who wear matching couple costumes?" Aiden asked, smirking.

"Absolutely! Do you have any ideas?"

"Not yet, but I'll get back to you!"

"Perfect," Harry said. 

The two finished up their food and dumped the trash on their way out. 

They stop once they get to a fork in the sidewalk, with one path leading to the parking lot and the other leading toward Harry's dorm.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay over? Jake won't mind, honestly," Harry said.

"No, I have class in the morning. And so do you! But I really should face my parents sooner rather than later. I already have 10 missed calls from my mom as it is."

Harry pouted. "OK."

"Stop that right now, Harry Styles," Aiden scolded. "Don't feel sad about anything. Silver lining to all of this? I got to see you. And we didn't know when that was going to happen. I'm so glad I have you. I don't know what I would do if I was alone in this."

Harry nodded, knowing how close Aiden always was with his parents. Harry had to be strong for him now.

"Luckily, you won't have to figure that out," he said, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. "As soon as you feel upset by this or you need to vent about anything, you call me. Promise?"

"Promise."

Harry leaned forward, placing a soft kiss to Aiden's lips. When they broke apart, Harry leaned his forehead against Aiden's. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too. So much. But don't worry. We'll see each other for the party. In what? Three weeks?"

"Something like that, yeah," Harry said, pulling away, holding just Aiden's hands.

"But it could be sooner. I might need to get out of my house if I get sick of my family. You never know."

Harry smiled. "Well, I already said, let me know if you need anything. I'm here. And my bed is small as hell, but we could both fit in there if we wanted to."

"I'm sure we could," Aiden smirked. "I really need to go, though. One more kiss for the road?"

 _How could I say no to that?_ Harry thought to himself.

He leaned in, finding Aiden's lips once again. But this time, the kiss was deeper. Harry wraps his arms around Aiden, pulling him closer. 

Harry's lips moved slowly across Aiden's, knowing this would be the last kiss for a few weeks, and Aiden moved at the same speed. 

Aiden's hands started to massage all over Harry, moving from his hips and up his back. Harry let out a sigh. Once Harry felt one of Aiden's hands move into his curls, he licked at Aiden's bottom lip, begging for entrance. 

Aiden responded by parting his lips, allowing Harry to immediately search for and find Aiden's tongue with his own. It had been too long since they've been able to do this, and Harry wanted to remember this feeling.

After a few more minutes, the boys pulled apart, both breathing heavy, hearts racing.

"I miss that," Harry smiled.

"Me, too," Aiden agreed. 

"You sure you have to go?"

"I don't want to, but I know I have to. Just a few more weeks, Harry."

Harry stepped back. His head told him it's what he should've done, but his heart said otherwise.

"A few more weeks," he repeated. "Bye."

"Bye," Aiden said. He turned and walked toward the parking lot, his head down.

_A few weeks sure feels like forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... Louis and Jake? Harry and Aiden? How will it all play out?  
> I told you! This is gonna be a long story with a lot of bumps in the road.  
> I made it to 400 hits just after I posted this chapter, so I guess you're still enjoying it!  
> Comments?  
> 


	9. Soccer Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna start out by saying that I know basically nothing about soccer, so if anything that I wrote is wrong or awkwardly worded or whatever, I'm sorry!  
> Also, this story already has 500+ hits, which is insane to me. Thank you so much for reading!

"He's running! He's going! He's gonna score! Damn it! How could you miss that shot?"

Zayn stifled a loud laugh as he watched Niall jump up and down, cheering on the Taylor University soccer team. 

It was a Wednesday night, and Niall should be in the office, but the writer he had assigned to cover the game bailed at the last minute. So, Niall was on the field with Zayn, the photographer assigned to the game. 

Not that he minded at all. As much as Niall loved soccer, he could almost never attend a game, as most of them were on Wednesday nights or on the weekends when he already had other plans. And even though he would have to pay close attention to the game in order to quickly write a halfway decent article about it tonight, it was worth it to watch his school play tonight. They were still undefeated, and tonight they were versing their conference rival, Marshall College.

Zayn knelt down to photograph one of the Taylor players steal the ball away from Marshall. He checked the picture before taking another shot of the players running back down the field. 

The game was only ten minutes in to the first period, but there had already been a lot of "accidental" kicks to the shins and elbows to the chests. He hoped to be able to get at least one shot of a foul from the Marshall players. 

It would make a nice addition to the Sports page, to say the least. 

"Niall! Zayn!" 

Zayn turned to his right to see Jake walking toward them. 

"Jake, my man," Niall greeted easily, "how ya been?"

"Since last night? Pretty much the same, to be honest."

Niall laughed. "Glad to hear it." 

"You guys are covering the game, I see."

"Yeah. I'm actually not supposed to be here, though. My writer flaked out about an hour ago, so I had to come so I could write the story. Not that I can complain, really. I miss too much soccer because of this damn job."

"Wow, Niall, tell us how you really feel," Zayn said. 

"Just joking, you know I am. I do miss the sport, though."

"I understand," Jake stated. "Harry's always at the office. I don't know how he has time for anything else."

"Exactly my logic," Zayn admitted. "It's so much work. That's why I'm just a lowly photographer."

"Goal! Goal!" Niall suddenly yelled out. "Lowly is right, you didn't even get a shot of that one."

"I'll get the next one," Zayn muttered.

"Didn't mean to distract you guys," Jake apologized. "Just wanted to say hey. And thanks again for the party invite, Zayn."

"No problem," Zayn responded. "Seriously, though, bring whoever you want. Last year, there were almost 150 people, and there was still plenty of space. As long as they don't really trash the place."

"Sick," Jake replied. "I'll keep that in mind. Harry has the address, right?"

"Yeah, I'll give it to him tomorrow when I drop off these pictures."

"All right, cool. See you guys later."

Zayn and Niall waved as Jake walked up into the stands, joining a group of two guys and two girls. 

"I'm gonna text Louis," Niall said as soon as they were alone again.

"Why?" Zayn questioned as he took a few more shots of the teams going head-to-head on the field.

"Let him know that Jake's here. Did you see how they were looking at each other last night? Wouldn't hurt for Lou to get a little more face time."

Zayn paused. He remembered that Louis liked Harry just a few months ago, but now that Aiden was in the picture, he wasn't sure if those feelings still existed. And since no one else had ever mentioned it, he didn't know if anyone else knew about the little crush besides him. 

Therefore, he didn't really have a good reason to stop Niall from texting Louis. 

Although, the Irish boy did have a point. Jake was giving Louis a few looks that said "more than friends," and Louis was sending them right back. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for Louis to have someone who wasn't newspaper-related. 

Zayn looked up and started jogging toward the other end of the field. His school was about to score, and he wasn't going to miss the goal this time. 

\---

Louis heard his phone vibrate as he finished typing the headline that he had been working on for the last twenty minutes. 

 _Finally._   _Finished the pages._

He picked up his cell to see a new message from Niall. 

 _**Jake's here. At the game. Get here. Now.** _

Louis checked the clock. It was almost 7:30, and his pages were all done. He technically could leave, as he didn't have anything else to do. 

Usually, Louis stayed til 8:30 or 9 on Wednesday nights, wanting to get as many edits done as possible before the News section had a crisis that would take up Liam and Dani's full attention. Which happened pretty much every week. 

Plus, the soccer team still hadn't lost a game this season. So, it would be nice of Louis, as a soccer fan, to support his school. 

And if he happened to run into Jake and his gray eyes and his height and his deep voice, then so be it. 

 _**How much time is left?** _

Louis saved his pages while waiting for the answer. 

_**Game started at 7. Less than 20 minutes into 1st period.** _

Harry walked out of his office then, and sat down in the chair by Louis' desk. 

"I need a break from that room," he said. 

Louis nodded, slowly shutting down his computer. He didn't want to be rude and just walk out, but he did want to get to the game.

"Are you leaving?" Harry asked, confused. 

"Yeah, Niall asked me to join him and Zayn at the soccer game," Louis answered. "You wanna come?"

"I wish I could, but I'm waiting for pictures for a News story. That motivational speaker? The presentation ended a half hour ago, so pictures should be in any second."

Louis shook his head. "That sucks, man." 

Although, he was actually kind of glad Harry couldn't go. He didn't know if he really wanted to be in the same place with Harry  _and_ Jake again so soon. 

"Yeah... Well I'll see you tomorrow, then. And hey, I think Jake's at the game, too."

"Really?" Louis tried to act like this was new information. "I'll say hi if I see him."

"Cool. See you."

Harry watched Louis grab his stuff and leave the room. 

He didn't know what to think of the sadness he felt about the desk next to him now being empty. 

\---

Louis made it to the soccer fields in less than 10 minutes. 

He showed his ID at the main gate and walked in. He immediately saw a jumping blonde leprechaun next to the Vogue model in a black leather jacket. Of course his roommates were on the center line. 

He walked over to them, occasionally glancing up into the bleachers. 

He saw a lot of parents wearing Taylor University sweatshirts and freshmen trying to act cool at what could possibly be their first college sporting event. 

As he neared Niall and Zayn, he spotted Jake. He was sitting with four other people, and they were all intently watching the game, giving Louis the opportunity to stare at Jake for a moment. 

He was wearing a dark gray thermal and black jeans, with black sneakers and a black snapback.

_No wonder he and Niall got along so well. Snapbacks and soccer. What's not to like?_

"Hey, Lou," Zayn greeted. 

"Louis, you missed it!" Niall scolded. "Reynolds was about to score on us, but then Howard came out of nowhere and stole the ball back and took it almost all the way down the field. But then Murphy pretty much attacked him! Howard just took the penalty kick. You've got terrible timing, really, I must say."

Louis scoffed at his roommate. Niall just told him a bunch of names that Louis didn't actually recognize. If Niall didn't sound so glad about the foul, Louis wouldn't even know which players were for which team.

Zayn just rolled his eyes and checked his photos. 

Louis debated turning around to see if Jake had seen him yet. He was now grateful for the presentation that he had to give earlier in class today. If he hadn't had to look presentable, he would have been at the game in his usual sweatpants and hoodie combo, instead of his jeans and button down shirt. 

And his jeans really showed off his best... _asset_. 

"My deepest apologies, Niall. Really."

The blonde boy just shrugged, waiting for the game to resume. 

Louis took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder to where Jake was sitting to find the boy already looking at him. He smiled and waved from his seat in the stands, and Louis waved back slowly.

"Here we go!" Niall shouted, grabbing Louis' arm to bring his attention back to the game. 

The rest of the first period passed by quickly, the ball going back and forth between the teams. There were quite a few more fouls called, and Louis found himself holding his breath at every one. 

The game was intense, but he expected nothing less from a rivalry game. 

When the buzzer sounded for halftime, Louis offered to walk to the concession stand to get the boys drinks. Zayn declined the offer, but of course, Niall accepted, asking for a large whatever-had-the-most-caffeine. He would need it to bust out the article on this game tonight. 

It seemed that everyone who was watching the game had the same idea as Louis. He stood in line, hoping he would be back before halftime was over.

"Fancy meeting you here," he heard from behind him. 

He recognized Jake's voice right away.

"Yeah, strange, isn't it? Both getting snacks at halftime so we don't miss the game. Small world," he replied.

He turned to Jake, smiling. "What's up?"

Jake shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just sitting in the bleachers watching the best college soccer game of my life, wondering why I can't be standing on the field like a select few other people."

"Ahh, sorry, Jake," Louis sighed, "that's press privileges. The coach knows we're newspaper folk. Niall's interviewed him so many times they're practically family."

"Got it. Too bad I'm shit at writing, huh?"

"I'm sure you're not. I've never actually written a sports article myself, but the way Niall does it makes it look pretty easy." 

"I guess. But that's all right, I'll stick with science. That's what I'm good at."

"Science?" Louis inquired. "You're a science nerd?"

"I'm not a nerd, thank you very much. I prefer the term 'chemist.'"

"See, you say that, and all I heard is, 'no free time.'"

"You're one to talk," Jake said. "How much free time do you get in your major?" 

Louis pondered that one for a moment. "All right, touché. I'll admit that one."

Jake laughed. "Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear."

Louis rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"So did you get a costume for Zayn's party yet?" Jake asked.

"Not yet. The boys and I are supposed to go this weekend to start looking. You should come with us."

"Can't. I'm going home this weekend. Haven't seen my family since we moved back last month. I've been slacking."

Louis mentally agreed. He hadn't been home yet, either, to be honest. He had just been so  _busy_. Senior year was really kicking his ass, as much as he hated to admit it. Once the weekend hit, usually all he wanted to do was sleep.

Maybe next weekend he would go. He did miss his mom and sisters.

"Plus, I've already got a costume," Jake added. "So I'm all set."

"You do? What is it? I need ideas, I can't think of anything."

"Can't tell you, it's a surprise," Jake teased. "You'll just have to wait til the party."

"Not fair. I'll probably wind up going as a baby again, like last year."

"You went as a baby for Halloween last year?"

"Yeah, it was a dare. Long story."

"Well I look forward to hearing it," Jake said, that familiar gleam in his eye. 

All Louis could do was stare back. 

"Next!" he heard from behind him. It was his turn to order.

Louis bought two sodas and gave his money. 

"So, I guess I'll see you Tuesday? I mean, if you feel like coming over for FIFA?" Louis invited.

"As long as my family doesn't hold me hostage and stop me from coming back to campus, I'll be there," Jake said with a laugh.

"OK, great. See you then."

"See you."

Louis walked back to the field toward his friends. The game was about to resume, but Louis didn't care what happened next. This night couldn't get any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so this chapter was a little shorter, but it's because I'm hoping to post the next chapter on Thursday!  
> Keep your eyes open for it!  
> Sorry if this has any mistakes, I'll revise in the morning. But it's late, and I want to get this posted.


	10. Tag, You're It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a little shorter, too, since I just posted the other day.  
> Sorry it kind of seems like a filler chapter, but the next one will be a lot longer to make up for it. Promise!

Four days. That's how long it's been since Harry has talked to Aiden. That's the longest they've gone without talking since running into each other over the summer. Four days of not knowing what Aiden was up to. Four days of not knowing how Aiden was coping with his parents' divorce. Four days of just missing his boyfriend.

Not that he's keeping count or anything.

Harry lay in his bed on Saturday night. His clock read 10:37 pm. 

Usually, sleep would be the last thing on Harry's mind at this time of night during the weekend, but this Saturday night was a little different. 

Earlier today, he had gone costume shopping with Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn. All day, he had been waiting to hear back from Aiden. He had been texting him and trying to call all week, but to no response. Aiden hadn't even updated anything on Facebook since visiting Harry on Tuesday. It was like his boyfriend had shut himself off from the world. 

The group had visited three different Halloween stores, none of them finding anything good. The selection this year seemed to be targeted toward teenage girls and people in their early thirties - nothing cool or different for five college boys.

So, they all agreed to make their own costumes. Louis and Niall declared that they would just pick random things from their closets and call it a costume, while Liam and Zayn stated that they would actually attempt to make something interesting. Harry still had his heart set on a couple's costume with Aiden. But since he hadn't heard from him in four days, that was proving to be a little difficult to plan. 

He knew that he was shit at keeping his emotions hidden, so the other boys had quickly picked up on his mood. Harry pretended not to notice the looks that they had exchanged between them. 

It was on the drive back to campus after the final store that Louis had invited him out that night - really late that night. 

\---

_"Harry, are you busy tonight? Say, at like, 2 am?"_

_Harry pulled his eyes away from his phone to look at the boy sitting next to him._

_They were in the back of Liam's SUV, and Harry was sandwiched in the backseat between Louis and Zayn._

_"I'll probably be sleeping," Harry replied. "Unless you have some other idea of what I should do in the middle of the night?"_

_"I do, actually," Louis nodded. "We're gonna play tag."_

_Harry furrowed his brow. "Why would we have to play tag at 2 am?"_

_"Because it's fun, Hazza. You could use some fun right about now, couldn't you?"_

_He shrugged._

_"That's what I thought. We'll pick you up at your dorm at 2 am tonight. Or, tomorrow morning? You know what I mean. Wear a blue shirt and khaki pants. And comfortable sneakers. There may be some running."_

_"There may be? I thought we were playing tag."_

_"Among other things, yeah," Louis smirked._

_Harry looked to the other boys, who were smiling, but not giving him any more details._

\---

So now Harry was trying to sleep, but it was like his body had forgotten how. He was too anxious about what was going to happen tonight, but still thinking about Aiden and how he was doing. 

Harry finally dozed off around 12, waking up when his alarm went off at 1:45. 

He quickly got dressed in what Louis demanded he wear before going to the bathroom to freshen up.

His curls were even more unruly than usual, he noticed in the mirror. He bowed his head and shook them out before sweeping them off to the right. It was better than nothing. 

He returned his room and leaned on his bed, putting his head down on the mattress. 

A few minutes later, he felt the vibration from his cell phone. He checked it to see that Louis had texted him that they were out front.

Harry left his room, locking the door behind him. Walking downstairs, he was still trying to figure out why he had to be dressed so specifically for a game of tag. 

Outside, he saw the familiar silver car from earlier today, climbing in the back seat again. 

"Welcome, Harry," Louis greeted. "Are you ready for what we have planned for you?"

"I guess so," he said. "Don't know why it's at 2 am, though."

"You ask too many questions. Let's go, Liam!"

Liam responded by hitting the gas, taking them off campus.

They spent the fifteen-minute drive in near silence. The radio was playing some Top 40 music that Liam and Louis were bobbing their heads along to. Zayn and Niall were in the back with Harry, and both had their eyes closed. 

When they finally parked at their destination, Harry couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Wal-Mart? Why are we here?" he asked. 

"You'll see," Liam scolded. "Just hang on."

The boys got out of the car and moved around to the trunk. Harry felt his eyes widen as he took in the assortment of Nerf guns waiting for them.

"Harry, you're new here, you pick the one you want," Niall said.

Harry looked over the toys before picking the biggest one there was. 

"Figures," he heard Louis mumble behind him.

"That's the one Louis usually takes," Liam explained.

"Oh. Tough," Harry mocked. 

Louis frowned and took the next biggest one. 

After all of the boys had a gun, Liam closed the trunk and they entered the store. 

"OK, Harry, grab one," Zayn gestured toward the electronic carts with the black plastic seats and basket in front. "We're each going to use one of these and try to get whoever is it. It can be pretty tough when you can only move at one speed, though, so be careful where you aim that thing."

Harry nodded, sitting in the first cart. He'd never had to use one of these things before, but it was pretty easy to navigate. There was a button on the left handle that he would hit to go, and a button on the right handle that would stop. He just had to tilt the handlebars to the left or right to turn. 

This would be fun.

Each of the boys grabbed a cart and started to move into the store.

"Before we start, though," Liam began to explain, "we have to put a few things in the basket. That way if any employees notice us, they'll think we're just putting things away. That's why we're all dressed in an employee uniform - less suspicion. Put the Nerf gun in the basket if anybody gives you a second look, though. The goal here, obviously, is to not get kicked out, which could easily happen. Keep your phone out. If you think anybody will say something to you, let the rest of us know so we know what spot of the store to avoid, although most of the guys working will be in the grocery section, stocking shelves, so we avoid that section anyway." 

"How do you know all of this?" Harry asked in amazement.

"He used to work here," Louis answered. "Freshman and sophomore year."

"I remember what to look out for. I just don't know any of the overnight people anymore, otherwise I really wouldn't be worried."

For a few minutes, the boys rode around, getting used to driving the carts and grabbing some random items. 

"Almost forgot," Liam said, grabbing a small throw pillow off a shelf. "Whoever has the pillow in their basket is it. When you get tagged, the person who was it throws the pillow in your basket and gets a five second head start to get away."

Harry nods. "Let's go."

"Good, because you're it first."

Liam threw the pillow at Harry, and the other four boys drove off in different directions. 

"Should've seen that coming."

He took off in the direction that Louis and Zayn had gone. He didn't see anyone, so he stopped to listen for the sound of the buzzing of a moving cart. 

He heard it on his right and moved to find one of his friends. 

After about thirty seconds of following the noise, he saw Zayn turning down another aisle. He moved as quickly as he could go, stopping at the end of the aisle to see Zayn stopped with his back to Harry, looking around the corner. He picked up his Nerf gun and aimed to tag Zayn, when - 

Whack. 

Harry felt himself get hit on the shoulder by a large bottle of vitamins. 

Zayn heard the noise of the bottle hitting the floor behind him and quickly moved out of sight. 

Harry turned to his left and saw Louis retreating down another path, letting out a loud "Ha ha!" as he went. 

_Oh, it's like that, huh?_

Harry followed Louis, listening and looking out for any more flying objects. 

He could hear the humming from Louis' cart somewhere ahead, but just couldn't see him. He found himself getting closer to the grocery section, though. He checked one more aisle before turning around. 

That's when he saw Louis. He was coming to a stop and looking around a large vegetable display and he saw Harry, too.

The two boys made eye contact, and there it was again, Harry noticed. That familiar fluttering in his stomach when Louis' bright blue eyes pierced Harry's emerald ones. It was something that Harry had learned to ignore, as it didn't mean anything. 

Harry gave Louis a small smile. Louis returned the smile and added a wink before turning around and moving the other way. 

Instead of following, Harry drove the opposite way, hoping that he might catch Niall off-guard and half-asleep somewhere.

\---

Liam and Zayn sat waiting near the snack section. It wasn't technically the grocery aisle, so they were allowed to hide there. Plus it gave them a chance to figure out where Harry was so they could avoid him. 

"So, you and Perrie, huh?" Liam asked slyly. 

"What about me and Perrie?" Zayn asked back.

"Don't lie. You two were like this," he held up the index and middle fingers on his right hands and crossed them, "on Tuesday night. I know you like her, dude. Admit it."

"I guess so. She's pretty cool. And she's not uptight about photo deadlines like some other editors that I know."

"Listen, I just want to make sure everything's taken care of! Is that so wrong of me?"

"No, I suppose not... But you're one to talk. Do you ever talk to Danielle other than at the office?" Zayn threw at Liam.

"Of course I do!"

"FIFA night doesn't count," Zayn said.

"Oh. Well, I guess not," Liam admitted.

"You need to say something to her, dude. She won't wait around forever. I'm surprised she's still single, to be honest."

"I kind of am, too. But I think I'm going to say something soon. Maybe at the party."

"Alright, I can deal with that. It's about time, you've only liked her for two years now."

"Shut up, Zayn," Liam hushed. "Do you hear that?" 

Both boys stop talking as they hear the buzzing of another cart getting closer. They get ready to move before they see that it's only Louis, and judging from the lack of a pillow in his cart, he's not it.

Louis waved as he continued past, toward the front of the store.

"Anyway," Zayn started, "do you know what you're gonna say?"

"I haven't gotten that far. Hopefully it's something more than 'Uhh... Great party, huh?'"

"Think about it. I don't want you to wuss out on me now."

"Hey," Liam defended himself, "I'm not a wuss. And you haven't said anything to Perrie either. Does she know you like her?"

"Of course she does!"

"Are you sure? Because sometimes you do that whole mysterious thing, and it comes off like you don't want to be bothered."

"I do?" Zayn asks.

"Yeah, so she might have no clue. In fact, she probably doesn't have any idea that you like her."

"Hmm... Maybe I'll say something at the party, too."

"If you say something, I'll say something," Liam says.

"Deal. But you better talk to her. Don't chicken out like every other time before."

"Fine, but if you don't do it, I'll tell Perrie that you like her. No hesitation."

"Yeah?" Zayn challenged. "Well if you don't talk to Danielle, then I'll tell her about the time I caught you jerking off while saying her name."

"Damn it, Zayn, that was one time! Let it go!"

"No can do, Liam. That's pure gold. So, are we agreed? Man up and talk to them at the party?"

"Yeah, agreed."

The two shook hands on it. 

All of a sudden, Liam got hit in the chest with a Nerf dart.

"What? Where did you come from!" he exclaimed as Harry came into view.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "You're it."

Harry tossed the pillow into Liam's cart and raced off.

"Tough luck, man," Zayn laughed, following Harry away.

Liam just rolled his eyes and picked up the fallen dart before counting to five. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess I have some sort of bad news? I'm going away for the weekend. I leave tonight and I'll be back sometime Saturday. As much as I would love to say that I'll post something on Sunday, I know I probably won't. Maybe by Tuesday? Not sure yet.  
> Don't forget about me and the story! Bookmark it if you have to, and keep checking back, because I will update asap.  
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Under Pressure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Hope my little break didn't lose any of you!  
> Enjoy!

"Louis! Get up!"

Louis was asleep in his bed at home the following Saturday. Or, he  _was_ asleep until he was woken up by a shrill scream. 

"Come on! Get up! It's almost 10!"

Make that two shrill screams. 

Louis groaned and opened his eyes to find his two youngest sisters - twins actually - Daisy and Phoebe, on the bed with him, waiting for him to get up.

"Jake's almost on! We need to watch it!" 

"What?" he asked. 

It was too early for this. He had come home to his mother's house last night, like he wanted to. Of course, his mom Jay pounced on him the second he walked in, talking about how much she missed him and how it just wasn't the same at the house without him here. 

Once she let him breathe, he had gotten hugs from each of his four sisters, and a firm handshake from Dan, his mom's boyfriend.

"Doing well up there, Louis?" Dan had asked.

"Of course I am," he answered. "Gotta keep the grades up. Need a strong transcript for September, won't I?"

"That's right, you will. I brag about you to Mike all the time; don't make me look like a liar."

Mike was Dan's neighbor, the one who got Louis an interview and later an entry-level job at  _South Jersey Daily,_ the small newspaper that had an office located less than twenty minutes from Jay's house, where Louis would be moving back into upon graduating. 

"Absolutely not, sir. Don't need to worry about me."

Now Louis lay in his room, looking at his sisters in confusion. What did they mean that Jake was coming on? He hadn't told anybody at home about Jake.

"Jake the Pirate! He's coming on now!"

Louis smirked. Of course, they meant the Disney cartoon that they loved to watch with Louis, even though they were a few years too old for it.

He shouldn't have been surprised that they loved the show, really. The cartoon was a lot like Peter Pan, who Louis himself had always been compared to because he didn't like big responsibilities and tried to forget that he had to grow up and start shouldering a lot more of them.

Taking on his role as a newspaper editor was a big enough task as it was. Louis was dreading graduation and actually having to be an... _A_ _dult._

"Oh, OK, then."

Louis reached on to his bedside table and grabbed the remote for his television, switching to the familiar channel. And just in time, too.

The cutesy theme song started playing, and Louis bobbed his head along to the music as his sisters starting singing along to the lyrics. 

"Yo Ho! Yo Ho!" Daisy started.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Phoebe finished.

Louis smiled. He would never get over how cute they could be, especially with that twin thing of finishing each other's thoughts. 

\---

Back on campus, Zayn awoke with a start. 

And so it began - Hell Week, as Zayn affectionately calls it. The week before his party, and it's just about that time for him to start having nightmares about the event going horribly wrong. 

He had talked Liam's and Niall's ears off last night about the music for the DJ - make that DJs, yes, plural - to play. What was a solid ratio of Halloween music to party music? What would everyone like?

And that was another thing. Should he have hired two different DJs? It only made sense to have one DJ inside the house and another one outside the house. It was a big backyard. Guests outside should be able to hear music, too. 

What about decorations? Zayn wasn't into cheesy Halloween decorations. He was going simple this year, with dark lights inside and red lights outside, fake cobwebs, strobe lights and some eerie music. Would they look OK?

And how many kegs should he get? Last year, he'd only gotten four, and they'd all run dry before the night was over. That was a fun task - having to explain to a hundred drunken college kids that the beer was gone. Fortunately, one of his guests had parents that owned their own liquor store. There was more booze within a half hour.

So maybe Zayn should get eight kegs this year? He didn't know exactly how many people would be coming this year, so he wanted to be prepared.

Luckily, money wasn't an issue. The uncle who was allowing Zayn to throw the party at his house was the typical "eligible bachelor." He wasn't married and didn't have any kids, always claiming that his job was his life. He'd been very successful, too, becoming an agent to several big-name athletes on some of the Philadelphia sports teams. He'd been at it for more than 30 years, and showed no signs of slowing down, which worked out well for Zayn, who, as the "son his uncle never had," got to throw parties at the house whenever he wanted. 

He rubbed his eyes and looked at his clock. It wasn't even 10:30. He hadn't fallen asleep until almost 4 because of how much he was worrying about the party. He shouldn't be awake yet.

_Why do bad things happen to good people?_

He took out his phone and scrolled through Facebook for a few minutes before updating his status.

**I HATE PARTY PLANNING.**

_There. Straight to the point._

He rolled out of bed and walked into the living room. It was strangely quiet, even for a Saturday morning. He knew Louis was home this weekend, so he walked toward Niall's room. He peeked in to find that his roommate was still fast asleep, snoring peacefully. Zayn decided he would let him continue to rest. 

He continued down to Liam's room. The door was wide open, and Liam left a note on the dry erase board he had hanging from his door that simply read "gym."

Zayn snorted.  _Of course_ that's where Liam was. Ever since he found out that Danielle took a weekend dance class in the studios conveniently located right next to the gym in the student rec center, he found every reason to lift weights and run on the treadmill at the godforsaken time of 10 am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, just hoping to run into her. 

Which reminded him, what would he say to Perrie at the party next week? He swore to Liam that he would admit to Perrie how he felt about her, but now that the party was getting closer, it was starting to seem a little too real. He remembered how much of a wreck he had been last year. He'd been so frazzled about everything that he didn't really recall having fun at his own party. It's just that there was _so much_ to worry about.

Was everyone having a good time? 

Is there enough food? 

Can the DJ play another song?

Why are there so many people in the pool?

He wasn't sure that this year would be any different. 

He shook his head, promising himself he would figure it out later. 

He got in the shower and got dressed. As he finished getting ready, his phone went off. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when it showed that it was a message from Perrie. 

 _ **Perrie: You busy? =)** _

He read the text message about five times before responding. 

 _ **Zayn: Nope. What's up?** _

It was all Zayn could type. He didn't know why Perrie was texting him, but it was scaring him that he was just thinking about her, and now, here she was, asking if he was busy. 

 _ **Perrie: I'm headed to the Coffee House in a few. Wanna join?** _

Zayn hated coffee. It tasted bitter and it was just too much work to get it to taste good, or even halfway decent. He was more of a Red Bull type of guy. 

But the Coffee House did have breakfast food, and Zayn  _was_ starting to get hungry. 

 _ **Zayn: Sure! Meet you there in 10?**_

He sent the message before giving himself the chance to overthink the exclamation point. He didn't know if it made him sound too eager. 

 _ **Perrie: Perfect. =)** _

_OK, OK. Going to meet Perrie. One on one. By ourselves. With no one else there. OK._

Zayn sat down on the couch and immediately started bouncing his knee up and down. 

Niall came into the room then, flopping down on the futon. 

"Zayn, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Niall, why?"

Niall looked up at Zayn. "Because you look as white as I am, your voice is a scary high octave and your knee is bouncing so hard it looks like it's about to fly away. Spill."

Zayn shrugged. "I'm meeting Perrie for coffee in a minute."

"You hate coffee."

"They have food at the Coffee House, too. And I'm hungry."

"Didn't know you liked Perrie. Hmm... Should've noticed that earlier. Wait. The Coffee House? Hey, bring me back a chocolate chip muffin?"

Zayn rolled his eyes. Niall  _would be_ thinking about food right now.

"Sure, man. No problem."

"Cool. I love those things. You know Perrie likes you, too? Don't know why you look so scared."

"She does?" Zayn asked.

"Course she does. She actually laughs at your jokes. And we all know you're the least funny roommate."

"Not true! I resent that."

"Resent it all you want, dude," Niall mumbled against the seat. "Just don't forget my muffin."

\---

Liam unlocked the door to the apartment and found it to be completely silent. 

 _Strange,_ he thought to himself.

It was almost 12:00. Zayn or Niall should at least be up and moving by now. 

He dropped his gym bag in the kitchen and walked into the living room to find Niall passed out on the futon. 

_Still strange._

He remembered that Niall had gone back to his room last night. How had he wound up on the futon? He shook his roommate awake. 

"Wazzit?" Niall slurred.

"Why are you on the futon? You fell asleep in your room." 

Niall turned and looked at Liam. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Liam said. "Where's Zayn?"

"Out with Perrie. They went to the Coffee House." He smiled. "Zayn's bringing me back a muffin."

"He's out with Perrie? Like a date?"

"I guess so. He just said they were meeting for coffee. I thought it was weird, too. Zayn doesn't even drink coffee."

"Yeah, weird," Liam agreed. 

"Did you know that Zayn likes Perrie? I never saw that coming."

"Yeah, he mentioned that before," Liam said.

Niall groaned. "Why am I always the last to know these things?"

\---

Harry sat in the dining hall staring at his phone. He was waiting to hear from Aiden, who finally realized it was necessary to text his boyfriend on a semi-regular basis. He heard from Aiden on Sunday night through a quick ten-minute Skype call. 

The boy had looked utterly picked apart. Harry couldn't believe how deeply the bags under his eyes had formed from a lack of sleep or how messy his hair was, as if he hadn't washed it in days. The divorce was hitting him harder than Harry liked to think about, especially since there was nothing he could do to comfort him.

He had texted back and forth with Aiden on Wednesday. It was then that they realized they still hadn't picked costumes for Zayn's party next week, and Aiden promised he would have an idea by this weekend. Of course, it was only just after noon on Saturday, but Harry still hoped that Aiden would suggest something soon. 

"Hey, can I ask you something?" 

Jake was sitting down at their table, holding two plates full of food. 

Harry still didn't understand how he could eat so much without getting sick. 

"Shoot."

"Louis is gay, right?" Jake asked.

Harry choked on the water that he had been drinking. 

"What?" he forced out.

"I mean, he's not like, messing with me or anything like that? He definitely likes dudes?"

Harry blushed, thinking back to the meeting over the summer.

"Yeah, he's definitely gay." 

"OK. So, do you think I have a chance with him?"

Harry couldn't hold back his glare.

"What?" Jake asked cautiously. "He's not behind me, listening to this, is he?" He looked over his shoulder to check.

"No, you're fine," Harry sighed. "He's home this weekend, anyway."

"Oh, OK. Good," Jake relaxed. "So? Would I have a shot with him?"

Harry paused before answering, because the truth was, he didn't know. Louis had never talked to Harry about that kind of stuff - who he liked and didn't like, or what he wanted in a guy. 

Over the summer, Harry would have guessed that Louis liked guys that were 6 feet tall, with curly brown hair, green eyes and dimples. But not anymore - not since they were friends now.

Maybe Louis would like Jake. He didn't see any reason not to. Honestly, Jake was very good-looking. His gray eyes were something Harry didn't really see on anybody else these days. He was a few inches taller than Harry and spent a decent amount of time in the gym. Jake was funny and considerate. He liked to watch and play soccer, was close with his family and took great pride in his schoolwork. 

There really wasn't anything not to like. Jake was a great guy.

So why was Harry getting annoyed at the mere thought of Louis actually dating him? 

"You're taking forever to answer. I guess that's a no." Jake broke the silence. 

Harry didn't realize how quiet he had been.

He cleared his throat. "No, just the opposite really. I was just thinking about how much you have in common. You should go for it."

As Jake smiled, Harry ignored the pounding in his chest. 

_What did I just do?_

"I mean, you know, we've been texting back and forth lately, ever since that soccer game last week. But, I don't know, sometimes I wonder if he's just talking to me to be nice, or because I'm your roommate, or whatever," Jake said.

_Wait, what? This is news._

"You've been talking to him?" Harry asked calmly.

This is the first he's heard about it. Louis definitely hadn't mentioned it before.

"Yeah, and he seems really cool. He  _is_ a good guy, right?"

Harry paused.

"Yeah, he's one of the best," he answered sadly. 

\---

Liam had just stepped out of the shower when he heard the front door open. 

"Niall!" he heard Zayn call out. 

Liam tightened the towel around his waist and walked back into the living room. Zayn was handing Niall a muffin, and the blonde boy looked ecstatic, like he had just been given a million dollars or something. 

"Thanks, man, you're the best," Niall said as he took a huge bite. 

For a moment, the room was silent, only the sound of quiet chewing filling the air.

"So what happened?" Liam finally asked, unable to hold back. 

Zayn shrugged, sitting down on the couch.

"We talked for a while. She said she first asked me to hang out after she saw my Facebook status. Offered to help, if she could."

Liam was shocked. Zayn actually sounded shy about this. In the year that Liam has known Zayn, he couldn't remember a time when he sounded shy about anything. Especially not a girl.

"So I bounced some ideas off her," Zayn continued. "She likes my idea about the two DJs, and says that my decorations will be good. She's not a fan of super corny decorations, either. And she reminded me to have tons of water available since a lot of people will be drunk before midnight. Can you believe it? I totally forgot about getting water."

"Did you talk about anything else?" Liam inquired.

"Well, yeah," Zayn answered. "Me when I was younger, her when she was younger. Did you know she always wanted to be a singer? I thought that was so cool. That's why she's the Entertainment editor, actually. She wants to stay close to music journalism and maybe work for  _Rolling Stone_ one day. I love that."

"Zayn's in love," Niall mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"Shut it, Niall. And I am not. It was only one date, if you can even call it that."

Liam's mouth was running dry. Zayn had already been on a date with Perrie and he couldn't even talk to Danielle outside of newspaper-related activities. Why did he have to be such a wuss?

"You gonna see her again?" Niall asked. 

"I'm not signed up to do any photos this week, so probably not. I guess just on Saturday," Zayn answered. "Speaking of which..."

He turned to Liam. "You all set for that? Know what you're saying to Dani yet?"

"Wait." Niall looked at Liam with a completely straight face. "You like Dani?"

Liam just stared at his roommate before walking into his room to get dressed. 

Niall really could be completely oblivious sometimes.

"Seriously, why does no one tell me these things?" he heard Niall yell after him.

\---

Louis finished packing up his car on Sunday afternoon. It was only a little after 2 o'clock, but he wanted to beat traffic driving up to school. 

He walked back into the house to make sure he didn't leave anything behind. 

He said goodbye to his sisters, each one seeming to care a little bit less than the last, before going downstairs to find his mom.

"Is that everything, then?" Jay called out from the kitchen. 

Louis entered the room to find his mom cleaning up.

"Yeah, that's it."

"Glad you could come home, Lou. You know we miss you around here."

"Don't worry, it'll be Thanksgiving break before you know it. Then I'll be home for five days and you'll just get sick of me," Louis joked.

"Never!"

Louis gave his mother a long, tight hug.  

"So, who's the boy?" Jay asked after he pulled away.

Louis furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm your mother, Louis. I know these things. You've been... _different_ this weekend. Happier, maybe?"

"I'm always happy!" Louis defended. 

"I don't know, it just seems, different. I can't think of another word to describe it."

Louis smiled. It's not like his mom was wrong, as usual.

"So tell me about him!" 

"Well... he's tall, and he's got these beautiful eyes that I could just look at all day. He likes soccer and he's funny. I haven't even known him that long, but I just love talking to him and being around him." 

"And what's his name?"

"Um," Louis started. "His name's - "

"MOM!" 

Louis was interrupted by Lottie yelling from upstairs.

"Tell Fizzy to get out of my room!"

"I'm not in her room, mom!" Fizzy shouted down. "I'm in the hallway!"

"Outside of my room! Go away!"

Jay rolled her eyes.

"We'll talk later," Louis said.

"Are you sure? Don't think I'm not interested, because I want to hear all about this guy."

"Positive. I'll tell you all about him later. Just get up there before they kill each other."

Jay pulled her son into one more hug. "Drive safe. Let me know when you get back, alright?"

Louis nodded and watched his mom go upstairs to break up his sisters.

Louis smiled. His sisters sure could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... Who do you think Louis was talking about to his mom? Was it Harry? Or was it Jake?  
> The next chapter will be all about Zayn's party. And I'm thinking I might have two parts to it. I've already started writing it, and there's just so much that I want to include.  
> Five guys, five different story lines. There's a lot that can (and will) happen.  
> The next chapter will also be written like this chapter was - focusing on one of the boys for a little while and then switching to the next one.  
> The first part will be posted on Sunday night. Keep an eye out for it!


	12. Happy Halloween (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Party time!  
> So the way this is going to work is: each of the boys has their own part of the chapter that's focused on them. And, it's going to end on a cliffhanger at some point in their relationships with their boyfriend/person they like. The second part of this chapter will tell you what happened, and it's gonna take place on the morning after.  
> This is the longest chapter I've written so far, it's more than 6,000 words. So you better enjoy it! Ha!

Zayn thought the party could be considered a success, and it was only 10 o'clock. 

The doors to his uncle's house opened at 9, and people had been showing up since then, with the current headcount around 120. 

 _Not too shabby,_ he thought to himself. 

So far, he knew that Liam, Louis, Niall and Josh were there, somewhere. Perrie hadn't shown up yet, but he knew she would be coming soon with Jade, Jesy and Leigh-Anne. He asked her to let him know when they arrived so he could see their costumes. Eleanor, Stan and Dani were on their way. Harry should have already been here with Aiden and Jake, but had just texted Zayn to let him know they would be late. 

Zayn adjusted the hat on his own costume. He had decided to go as an Italian mobster. He borrowed a black and gray pinstripe suit from his father and a black fedora from his cousin. His deep red dress shirt underneath added the "pop of color" that his mother claimed that he needed, and he'd had to dig through his closet to find his black dress shoes from his community college graduation last May. 

He looked pretty good, if he did say so himself. 

He stepped outside to check on his guests. He immediately saw a girl from his Art Appreciation class doing a keg stand, and a group of guys chucking their costumes on the ground so that they could jump in the pool. 

It was a mild night for the end of October. The weather forecast said it would be around 57 degrees tonight. So while it wasn't exactly pool weather, it could have been a lot worse. 

He looked toward the DJ, who had chosen to set up in the middle of the yard, by the fence that ran along the outside of his uncle's property. He really hoped that people wouldn't be tripping over the thousand extension cords that were running from the booth and into the garage. 

_Oh well. If anybody falls at least there isn't any concrete they can hit their heads on._

He mentally scolded himself for his lack of worry before feeling his phone going off.

 ** _Perrie: We're here! Where are_** _ **you**_ **?**  

Zayn smiled, glad that Perrie had arrived. 

**_Zayn: Headed toward the front door. I'll come get you._ **

He walked back in the house and forced his way through the crowd. In the few minutes that he'd been outside, it had gotten much more claustrophobic inside. He thought of Niall and hoped that he would be OK with all the people. His blonde roommate tended to get a little overwhelmed when he felt surrounded.

As he walked into the large foyer of the house, he saw a group of four girls waiting by the staircase. 

"You made it!" he exclaimed, raising his voice to be heard over the noise. 

He gave Perrie a hug and said hello to the other girls. 

"Nice costume!" Jade complimented.

"Thanks," he said. "It's something I literally put together yesterday."

He looked at the girls' costumes, but couldn't figure out what they were. They were all dressed so differently. 

Perrie was wearing a short pink dress and white sneakers. Her blonde hair was in pigtails and she had a lollipop in her mouth. Jesy was wearing a red and black tracksuit with running sneakers. Jade had on a black dress and high heels, and her long hair was straightened, held back by a black shiny headband. Leigh-Anne was wearing leopard print leggings with a similarly printed crop top and black wedges.

It dawned on him a moment later. "You're the Spice Girls?"

"Yes!" Perrie yelled excitedly. "I knew it was good, Jesy! She didn't think anybody would get it."

Zayn laughed. He had three sisters, one of whom was obsessed with the 90s. Of course he knew who the Spice Girls were. 

"Too bad there's not a fifth one of you. There's no Ginger Spice."

Leigh-Anne laughed. "Look at you! Knowing their names and everything."

Zayn shrugged. "I'm a man of many talents."

"I guess so," Jesy said. "So, where can we get a drink around here?"

"Easy." Zayn pointed through the archway next to the steps.

"Go through there, that'll take you into the kitchen. If you go to the left, you'll enter the dining room, and all the alcohol is set up there. There are coolers with mixers in them, too. And lots of cups. You're all set in there."

Jesy, Jade and Leigh-Anne nodded at the directions, and walked away, leaving Zayn and Perrie alone. 

"Missed you at the staff meeting on Monday. How come?" she asked.

"Yeah, I used all my free time this week planning this shindig. I missed you, too."

Perrie smiled. "Well I hope you're not stressing about it."

She looked over her shoulder. 

"This is awesome, Zayn. You really put together a great party."

"Thank you. Come on, I'll show you around."

Zayn took Perrie through some of the main rooms of the house, showing her both living rooms - one with the DJ and dance floor and one with a flat screen TV and foosball and pool tables - the nearest bathroom, the library and finally looping back into the kitchen. They got drinks from the dining room before headed outside. 

They stepped out on to the wooden deck and moved toward the railing.

"And here's the backyard," he gestured in front of them. 

Perrie took in the sight: strobe lights flashing, pool full of random people, the DJ playing the latest Drake song and people grinding to the music all throughout the yard. 

"This is crazy," she muttered. 

Zayn just couldn't help but stare at her. Perrie looked absolutely beautiful tonight. Not that she didn't always. But tonight, her hair was away from her face, and her makeup was very light, unlike the lipstick and heavier eyeliner she usually wore. 

He liked her better this way, really. With less...  _gunk_ on her face. Zayn didn't need all of that.

Of course, he would have preferred it if she wasn't wearing any makeup. He'd never seen her like that before, but he would just admire this side of her tonight.

She leaned against the railing and he followed, staring out at the party.  

"You know," Perrie started, "I kind of like you."

Zayn looked back at her. She was biting her lip and looking down at her shoes.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in. 

"Well that's good, because I kind of like you, too."

"Only kind of?" she joked. 

Zayn smiled. "Maybe a lot."

Perrie couldn't hold back her smile at that one. "Yeah?"

Zayn looked down at her lips before making eye contact with her.

"Yeah."

She tilted her head up and he started to lean in.

\---

Niall was outside, walking toward the house. Josh had just texted him, saying to meet him in the garage. 

 **_Josh: Just follow the extension cords._ ** **  
**

He walked along the tall fence and into the garage to find a few beer pong tables set up. Josh was waiting at the end of one, and two other guys were standing with him.

"What's going on?" he asked his boyfriend. 

"Beer pong? This is Miles and Chase; they were in one of my music classes last semester. And they just challenged us."

"Well I never back down from a challenge. So let's go!"

Josh grinned. "I knew you would say that. I helped Zayn set up one of the kegs in here, so we're all set."

Niall took off the sign he was wearing around his neck. It said: 

**To: Men**

**From: God**

When he was trying to figure out a Halloween costume, he literally Googled "lazy Halloween costumes" and the idea of 'God's gift to women' popped up. Obviously, he had to make a few changes to that idea, but he thought it worked out rather well. In addition to the sign, he could wear whatever he wanted, so he'd chosen a white T-shirt, black jeans and black and white Jordans. Done.

What started out as just one game turned into a tournament. 

Niall and Josh defeated Miles and Chase after twenty minutes, taking forever to both sink the ball in the final cup.

After that, Eleanor and Dani had showed up, wanting to play the winners. They weren't very good at the game, but both shrugged the loss off, claiming it was the easiest way to get their night started.

Then, the boys played three more games against people they didn't know, winning all of them easily. 

It was after the fifth game that Josh claimed he needed a break from it. 

"Head's getting a little fuzzy," he whispered in Niall's ear.

The two made their way into the house to find water. Niall opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles, giving one to his boyfriend.

Leaning against the counter, Niall took a minute to admire Josh.

The boy was dressed as a rock star, sporting a cut up, sleeveless Rolling Stones T-shirt, black skinny jeans and black high top Converse sneakers. He had a set of his own drumsticks twisted into one of the belt loops of the jeans, and a red bandana was wrapped around his head. 

"Damn, you're sexy," Niall said.

Josh raised his eyebrows. "Are you hitting on me, Mr. Horan?"

"So what if I am?"

"Well if you are, I might just have to do this."

Josh wrapped an arm around Niall's waist and pulled him in, placing a kiss on his lips. Niall reached one of his hands into Josh's back pockets and squeezed, pressing Josh's body closer to his own. 

Niall deepened the kiss, letting his mind wander.

The two of them had been good lately. Like, really good. It reminded him of how they were last year - lovey-dovey, always holding hands, hugging and kissing.

Josh had only been Niall's second real relationship, even though it was brief. He didn't think that he'd ever really gotten over Josh, as much as he'd tried. It's just that Josh was the first boy that Niall had ever actually loved. The first boy he dated didn't count. It was puppy love, and they were only seventeen, still figuring out what to do and how to feel.

But he was sure that he still loved Josh. At least, he thought that he did. They never said it to each other, even when they were dating last time.

Last year was different, though. They had officially dated for three months, breaking up at the end of February. And during that time, Niall always felt like Josh was holding something back, while he had put a hundred percent into the relationship. Turns out that what Josh was hiding was the fact that he didn't want to be seriously dating anyone. 

Niall never told anyone that he was in love with Josh. His friends had just thought he was having a hard time getting over their breakup because he had to keep working with his ex. Which was true, of course.

But it was more because he had to sit next to a boy who he loved who he thought would never love him back. And that boy didn't even know that Niall loved him. It fucking sucked, to say the least. 

Now, Niall knew that he loved Josh, and he was going to tell him this time. But he just didn't know when. 

Josh pulled away suddenly. "Let's go swimming."

Niall grinned. One of the many things that he loved about Josh - his spontaneity. 

The boys went to a hall closet to grab towels before heading out to the backyard, where the party was even bigger than inside, if that was even possible. 

There were bodies  _everywhere_. The music had gotten even louder, but at least the strobe lights had slowed down a little. Red cups scattered the ground and Niall heard someone yell out, "We need to find a new keg! This one's empty!"

Niall grimaced. This was going to be a bitch to clean up tomorrow.

They got to the pool and stripped down to their boxers, dropping everything else on an empty lounge chair. 

And then they jumped in. 

Under the water, Niall opened his eyes. Josh was looking right at him, smiling and giving him a double thumbs-up.

Niall gave him a thumbs-up back before kicking himself up. When he broke the surface, he shook his hair out and started laughing when Josh appeared next to him.

"Why did you want to do this? It's freezing!"

"It's not that cold! Just a little breezy," Josh answered.

"We have different definitions of those words, then." 

"Sorry, babe. I'll help warm you up, then."

Josh splashed Niall, causing him to jump back. 

"That's not helping!"

Niall splashed Josh back and said, "Does that help warm you up?"

"Sure it does! It's not that cold, remember?"

Niall rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

"But I'm your idiot," Josh countered.

Niall couldn't hold back his smile. "Yeah, I guess you are."

The boys started playing a game of Marco Polo with some of the other guys already in the pool. 

Niall always hated being Marco, so he was very skilled at avoiding the person who was. 

So the one time that Josh was, he couldn't resist swimming under Josh and grabbing at his ankles. Josh just wasn't fast enough to catch him. 

After a while, the temperature dropped a few more degrees. Niall was still cold, and decided that he wasn't getting any warmer. He got out and wrapped his towel around his shoulders, attempting to block the wind. 

He sat down by the edge of the pool and Josh swam over to him. 

"Don't know how you're still in there," Niall said. 

Josh shrugged. "Cold doesn't bother me that much. Not that I'm admitting that it's cold or anything."

Niall laughed. "Of course you're not."

They sat in silence for a moment. 

"Hey, Josh?" Niall asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

This was it. Niall felt his heart start to race. He was going to tell Josh that he loved him. 

It wasn't that he doubted Josh's feelings for him, but he didn't know if it was too soon to say it. They had only been together for about two months now. But, they dated for three months before this. And wasn't there that unwritten rule about couples who get back together? Like, they pick up right where they left off or something?

So technically, they'd been dating for five months, which means that it was actually kind of late for him to first say "I love you."

He was going to do it.

Niall opened his mouth to say those three little words. 

\---

Liam wasn't drunk. He absolutely wasn't drunk. He was buzzed. Or tipsy. Whichever one was further along on the drunk scale. 

He had just texted Dani, asking her where she was. She said she was in the living room. But not the one with the DJ, the one with the foosball and pool tables. 

Now he just had to figure out where the hell that was.

_Just go up to her and tell her you like her. That's all._

He'd been telling himself that all week. And while it got easier to say, it didn't get easier to believe that he would actually be able to do it. 

He remembered when he first saw Danielle. It was his sophomore year, when he was the Entertainment editor, and it was at the first newspaper meeting of the year.

Liam was sitting at the editors' table waiting to start. He looked up and saw a group of freshman girls walking in the door, looking for chairs to sit in. Dani was one of them. 

He just remembered thinking that she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, with her crazy curly hair, tan skin and big brown eyes. So when she started writing consistently for the paper, he'd been thrilled. She wrote mostly for the News section, though, so he didn't get to talk to her much. But then she was picked to be one of the News editors the following year, Liam's junior year and Dani's sophomore. Then he got to see her all the time. In the office, of course. And ever since then, he'd been in the same spot - wanting to tell her how he felt but never getting the courage to do so.

And now, here he was, a few too many shots in. 

_It's just to take the edge off. It's just to let me be more honest when I see her. It's just so I don't chicken out._

That's what he said with every drink he'd made and every time he rose a shot glass with someone in the dining room. 

Hopefully he wouldn't blow it and slur out everything he wanted to say. 

He thought he remembered a hallway leading away from the kitchen earlier, so he headed in that direction. He passed a bathroom that had a long line of people waiting outside of it. Big surprise there. He walked by another door that looked like it opened to a library or something, with bookcases all over the walls. 

At the end of the hallway was another open door and he could hear people yelling in there. 

He looked in and saw Dani standing with Leigh-Anne and Stan. They were watching a game of foosball take place, and it sounded pretty intense. 

The crowd was shouting as whoever was playing missed a game-winning shot. 

Liam looked above the group to see that Eleanor and Jade were playing against two other girls. He wasn't sure who was winning, though.

"Liam! Come here!"

He heard Dani calling over to him and walked over. 

"Can you take our picture? I need one with my News people!"

Liam smiled and took Dani's phone, snapping a photo of the three.

"Thank you! Where have you been? I haven't seen you all night!" Dani said as Leigh-Anne and Stan walked away to congratulate Eleanor and Jade on their win.

_Trying to find you._

"Oh, you know, just... around. Trying to find everyone so I could say hi. It just took a while."

"Seriously! I heard someone say that there's 200 people here tonight."

"I believe that. It's crazy. I was just in the backyard and it's nuts out there. Not long til it's at  _Project X_ status."

Dani laughed. "Well I'm glad you found me. I feel like we never hang out."

Liam doesn't how to respond to that. 

Luckily, he doesn't have to, as Stan is calling them over to play against him and Leigh-Anne at foosball.

"I'm probably not going to be very helpful," Liam admitted to Dani as they took their spots.

"It's fine. I know for a fact that Leigh-Anne isn't very good, so we're pretty evenly matched."

Dani smiled at Liam as she dropped the ball in the center of the table. 

Liam was right. His reaction time was much slower than it would normally be, so Dani had to pick up a lot of his slack.

It was all right, though. A few times when he reached for one of the handles to move the mini players, Dani was reaching for the same handle, and their hands would brush against each other's. Even though it was usually because Dani was pushing his hand off so she could attempt to make a shot.

And, every so often, Liam would lean to the side a little and  _accidentally_ bump into Dani's shoulder with his own, claiming he was just trying to reach a different handle. 

It could've been worse. 

In the end, Liam and Dani did win. Somehow. 

Dani threw her hands in the air and cheered. 

"Good game, partner," she said, clapping Liam on the back. 

Liam may have leaned on the table to catch his balance after that. 

By now, Liam was starting to really feel the effects of all of those shots he had taken earlier. He couldn't actually remember how many he had taken. He stopped counting after the seventh one.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, do you want to come?" Dani asked him.

"Yeah, definitely. Let's go."

Liam knew it wasn't the best decision he'd ever made. But it was a chance to get Dani on her own. And hopefully they wouldn't run into anyone else they knew. 

The two walked out of the room and toward the dining room. 

"So I really like your costume, by the way," Dani said.

Liam had gone as an army recruit. He wore a khaki green sleeveless shirt with camouflage pants tucked into black leather work boots. He was wearing a hat, too, but he couldn't remember where it had gone. 

"Thanks. I like yours, too."

"Do you even know who I'm dressed as?" Dani challenged.

Liam looked at her. She was wearing a black skirt with black knee socks and black high heels. She had on a black sweater with a white collar sticking out from under it, and her hair was parted down the middle into two braids. 

"Um... a Goth girl?" he guessed.

"Close," Dani giggled. "Wednesday Addams. From  _The Addams Family_?"

"Ohhh! I get it now. That's really good. I definitely like that one."

"Thanks! It was pretty easy to do. I had no ideas this year. I sort of waited til the last minute."

"Yeah, so did I," Liam agreed.

They reached the dining room and Liam watched as Dani made herself a drink. It was something with vodka and juice, so he opted to just make himself a rum and coke. 

They started walking back to the living room. When they got close to the library he had passed earlier, he said, "Can we stop in here? I want to be able to hear myself for a second."

As expected, the room was empty. Everyone else had more interesting places to be at the moment. 

Dani walked in and sat down on a tan leather couch. 

_OK, Payne. Just do it. Just say it._

He took a long drink from his cup before speaking. 

"Dani, can I talk to you?"

"Of course. What's up?"

Liam took a step forward, but almost lost his balance. 

"Whoa, Liam! Are you all right?" Dani leapt up and grabbed Liam's arm, trying to steady him. 

"Fine, yeah," he nodded quickly. 

_That was a mistake._

"You should sit down, come here."

"OK, that sounds like a good idea."

Before he made it to the couch, however, he dropped to his knees and started to puke.

\---

Harry was annoyed. They had finally arrived at Zayn's party. Only two hours after it had already started. Whatever.

He walked in the front door with Aiden and Jake, not quite sure of where to go. He wanted to find Zayn and apologize for being late, but it didn't look like that would be happening. There was a room on either side of him and a huge staircase in front of him and all three were packed with people - some he knew, but most he didn't. 

"I'm gonna go find Louis," Jake said before walking to the large room on the right, where it sounded like a DJ was set up. 

_Oh right. That._

Apparently, Louis and Jake were becoming a thing. Maybe. Sort of. Not that either of them had bothered to say anything to Harry about it until last week. 

Harry didn't know if Louis liked Jake that way, but he knew that if he did, the feelings would be returned. 

He knew that the two of them had been talking to each other since that soccer game a few weeks ago. But he didn't know if anything was going on between them. It would have been nice to know, though. You know, since Jake was Harry's roommate and Louis was Harry's friend. 

And that's another thing. Harry and Louis couldn't have been very good friends if Louis had never mentioned that he was talking to someone new. Isn't that the sort of thing that friends tell each other? When they like someone or think that something might be happening with that person? 

Harry knew he was being silly to be mad over this, but he didn't care. He didn't like feeling left out of the loop.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself. 

"Want to get a drink?" Harry asked Aiden.

His boyfriend just shrugged. 

Harry rolled his eyes and looked around. It looked like the kitchen was in front of him, so he walked forward. 

Pushing past a group of girls dressed as the Powerpuff Girls, Harry opened the fridge, finding it full of beer and mixers. 

 _Guess Zayn wanted to be overprepared with the beer this time,_ he thought to himself. 

He handed a bottle to Aiden and grabbed one for himself. Twisting it open, he took a long swig before looking at his boyfriend.

Aiden didn't want to be here. Harry knew that. But he didn't know why. He just seemed tense, and he had since he had arrived at Harry's dorm room at 10:30, even though they had agreed that Aiden would get to Taylor a little before 9 so they could get to the house by 9:30, just after the party started. They wouldn't be the first ones there, and they would actually be able to find Harry's friends before the majority of people got there. It made perfect sense. 

So he and Jake were ready at 8:45 and watching TV when Aiden had simply texted:

 **_Leaving soon._ **

When Aiden did get to Harry's room, the boys left immediately. Jake offered to drive, since Aiden had just driven more than hour to get there.

"I like your costumes, by the way," Jake complimented as they walked. "Tommy and Chuckie from  _Rugrats_? Genius."

Harry smiled, looking down at what he wearing to show that he was Chuckie Finster: green khaki shorts, red high tops with yellow socks pulled up and a blue t-shirt that he'd drawn a yellow and red planet on with fabric paint. He'd let his curly hair do what it wanted that night, figuring the crazier it looked, the better. 

He adjusted the purple glasses on his face before saying, "Thanks, it was Aiden's idea."

Aiden wore a light blue t-shirt, white shorts and white sneakers. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts. He didn't say anything. 

"Are you all right? What's wrong?" Harry whispered to Aiden before they got in the car.

"Nothing," Aiden huffed. He didn't say anything else, just sliding in the back seat and shutting the door behind him.

Since then, Harry had been in a sour mood. Jake hadn't noticed, though, probably just excited to see Louis.

"Want to explore a bit?" Harry asked. 

Aiden just nodded, walking away.

_All right, then._

Harry followed him into the dining room, finding the table covered in bottles of every kind of alcohol he could've imagined. He made a mental note to remember that everything was in here, in case he needed something a little stronger, brushing off the whole "beer before liquor" rule.

Aiden then kept moving out the double doors that led outside. To the right was a deck. Harry walked up its stairs and leaned against the railing. 

The party had basically reached the point of the evening where everyone was drunk and no one cared about anything. People were getting thrown in the massive pool, fully clothed. Couples were finding chairs to sit down on so they could make out. The single people were grinding by the DJ and playing flip cup on the tables on the deck. 

But all Harry could focus on was the boy standing next to him. The boy who was upset about something, but wouldn't say a word. It was like the night Aiden surprised Harry at school, but worse. 

Because this time, Aiden wasn't even bothering to try and hide his feelings. He was just angry and pissed off at the world. Harry didn't know if it was something that he did, but he couldn't remember doing anything wrong lately. 

"Aiden, you have to tell me what's wrong."

"I don't  _have to_ do anything," Aiden snapped. 

Harry was surprised. Aiden had never spoken to him like that. Ever.

"No, you don't have to. But I wish you would."

"Harry, we're at a party. Just have fun."

"How am I supposed to have fun when you clearly don't want to be here?"

"If you don't like it, you don't have to stand here with me. Go find something else to do," Aiden retorted.

"What the fuck, Aiden? What's your problem?"

"Nothing! Just fucking drop it!"

"God, why did you even bother coming?"

"You know what," Aiden started, "I don't know why I bothered. You're right; I don't want to be here at your friend's party. I don't know why I even put this outfit on. I don't know why I try doing things to make you happy. I don't know why I even bother with you at all. It's not like we're gonna last or anything."

Harry felt all of the blood drain from his face. 

"What?" he managed to squeak out.

"You heard me."

When Harry didn't respond, Aiden just walked away from him.

"Aiden, what does that mean?" Harry called out. 

\---

Louis didn't quite remember how he wound up on the long island counter in the kitchen. 

 _But,_ he figured,  _might as well make the best of it._

He let himself relax and moved to the music. He could feel his hips rocking to the beat as he raised his hands in the air. He turned to see two girls he didn't know climbing on the counter with him. 

Louis moved toward them. He smiled as he slipped in between the girls and started dancing with them. 

He smirked as the girl behind him, a blonde, grabbed his hips and started to grind into him. Louis reached one arm around the girl in front of him, a brunette, and pulled her closer to him so he could rock into her. He then wrapped his other around the blonde so that the three of them could move as one. 

_Looks like we got a Louis sandwich over here._

As they continued to dance, Louis heard the cheers and catcalls they were getting. 

He bit his lower lip and realized that he was actually enjoying this. Usually the only people Louis bothered grinding on were the ones he wanted to go home with. You know, the ones with dicks.

 _I'm literally living any straight boy's wet dream,_ he laughed to himself. 

Louis shut his eyes and continued to move, and neither girl seemed to be in a hurry to move. 

It felt like hours later that he opened his eyes, when it had probably only been about a minute. But he looked down from his spot on the counter to see Jake watching him dance, eyebrows raised. 

Louis grinned at the boy dressed as a pirate and untangled himself from his dance partners. 

The girls pouted at their loss and Louis merely shrugged his shoulders. When the blonde winked at him, Louis just smiled.

 _Oh honey, you are so barking up the wrong tree._  

Louis jumped down from the counter as Jake walked up to him. 

"You look like you're having fun," Jake said.

"Yeah, just a little," Louis smiled. "I'm not usually the type to dance on counter tops at a party, but I may have had a few drinks already. I got bored waiting for you to get here."

"I'm sorry. Aiden took forever to get to school, so by the time we left it was after 10:30."

"It's OK. You're here now. I assume you're staying the night, too?"

"I think it's pretty much a given at this point of the night, don't you?" Jake asked sarcastically. 

Louis laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. Well in that case, let's get some drinks."

He led Jake over to the dining room where all of the alcohol was sitting. Half-empty bottles of rum, vodka, whiskey and whatever else Zayn bought or had been given had taken over the formal table. A line of coolers full of juices and sodas to mix the alcohol with sat along the wall. Towers of red cups and plastic disposable shot glasses stood in the corner, just waiting to be used. 

"Pick your poison," Louis gestured.

Jake pondered the selection for a moment before saying, "I usually start my nights out with a shot of whiskey. Care to join?"

Louis shuddered. He'd had a bad experience with the dark liquid in his freshman year. 

But, he'd been relatively new to drinking then. Maybe now would be different.

"Let's do it."

They prepared their shots and Louis held his up to Jake's.

"Cheers, man," he said as they tapped their glasses together. 

Louis tipped his head back, downing the shot and feeling that familiar burning down his throat. He could feel himself wincing as he put the shot glass down. 

"Not a Jack Daniels man?" Jake pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. 

"Nope. I wasn't before, thought maybe I might be now. And I'm definitely not." 

"Shame," Jake said. "So, as much as I love your costume, I also really hate it."

Louis looked down at what he was wearing. He and Niall had looked up easy Halloween costumes a few days ago and this was by far the best one Louis could do. He wore a pink dress shirt, white boxer briefs and white cotton socks pulled up to his mid-calf. He brought a candlestick, too, but that had gotten lost a while ago.

"Why would you hate it? I got everything right," Louis pouted.

"Because, Tom Cruise in  _Risky Business..._ "

Louis grinned, glad that Jake knew what he was. 

"I feel completely overdressed. I put way too much work into this."

"But I like the costume. You can't go wrong with being a pirate at Halloween. You could win a 'Best Costume' contest or something."

Jake shrugged. 

His response was cut short by the change in music.  _I Know You Want Me_  was playing in the living room, where the DJ was set up. 

"Do you want to dance?" Louis asked.

Jake bit his lip. "Not really much of a dancer. I've got two left feet, you know."

"Don't worry about it, babe. Just follow my lead."

Louis grabbed Jake's hand and led him closer to the music, fighting his way through the crowd. When they were in the middle of the dance floor, Louis started moving to the beat as he had before. 

He watched as Jake tried to copy some of his dance moves, but not quite making it. The boy was right; he did have two left feet. 

Louis smiled and leaned in, resting his hands on Jake's waist. "Relax," he said in his ear.

He then moved his mouth to Jake's, meeting their lips in a soft kiss.

The taller boy smiled.

_I'll make this easier for you._

As the song changed again, Louis turned and backed into him, placing Jake's hands on his own hips and holding them there.

Louis began to grind back into Jake and heard his breath hitch at the contact. 

He smiled to himself, glad he could get such a reaction so quickly. 

Jake lowered his mouth to Louis' neck, placing light kisses down it. He tilted his head to the side, allowing Jake to kiss along his jaw line, as well. 

Louis bit his lip. Of all the times to be really turned on, it had to be when he was half naked in the middle of a crowd. 

Jake began to rock into Louis then, making Louis moan quietly. He didn't think he could take much more of this. 

After another song played, Jake whispered in Louis' ear, "Let's get a drink. Not whiskey, though."

Louis laughed and nodded his head.

The boys detached themselves from each other and headed into the kitchen. Louis grabbed two beers from the fridge, not feeling like going outside to find a keg. 

As they drank, they occasionally stopped to kiss each other. Some were quick, others were long. 

They finished their beers at the same time and placed the bottles on the counter.

"So why did you pick a pirate costume, anyway? Out of anything you could've picked."

"Promise not to laugh?" 

Louis crossed his heart with his index finger. "Promise."

"Well, I went home two weeks ago. And I saw my nephew for the first time since the summer. And it was early in the morning and he woke me up to watch this cartoon. It was a lot like Peter Pan, and it had these kids that were solving mysteries and finding treasure and shit like that. He loved it. And my nephew said I have the same name as the main character, so I just went with it."

_Oh my God. No._

"You're Jake the Pirate." Louis realized.

"Yeah! You know the show?"

"I watch it with my younger sisters when I go home. They're obsessed with it."

"Seriously? That's crazy!"

_You wake up early to watch cartoons with your nephew. You dressed as a character from that cartoon to make him happy. You're tall, you're smart, you're funny, you have gorgeous eyes and a killer smile._

"You're perfect," Louis whispered. 

Jake blushed at the sudden compliment. After a slight hesitation, he said, "You're pretty amazing, too, Louis."

Louis reached his hand around Jake's neck and pulled him in for another kiss. He stood up on his tiptoes to make up for the height difference as Jake backed him into the counter, placing his hands on Louis' hips. 

He wound his arms around Jake's neck and parted his lips. Jake didn't hesitate to lick his way in. 

Louis released the breath he didn't realize he was holding in and rubbed his leg along the back of Jake's calf. 

Jake moved one hand under the hem of Louis' shirt, stroking his way up until he found heated skin. He started massaging Louis's side.

Then, his other hand moved down to pinch Louis' ass.

Louis let out a small squeal and the two broke apart, both breathing heavy.

Louis looked into Jake's eyes before saying, "Do you want to go upstairs?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?!  
> Are you surprised at anything that happened, or did you see some/all of it coming?  
> I'm still working on the next part to this, and everything will be explained. I'll post it asap. Maybe Wednesday?


	13. Happy Halloween (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut alert!  
> Yup, you're gonna get some action in this chapter! How exciting!  
> It's probably not that good, but just keep in mind I'm still new to this whole writing thing.  
> There _is _smut between characters who aren't HL in this chapter. If that weirds you out, just skip the Niall/Josh part.  
>  Anyway, enjoy!__

The sun was shining, birds were singing, people were laughing downstairs and Liam couldn't find the beauty in any of that, because he was hungover. 

But this wasn't just any hangover. It was the kind that the main character in a movie would get after downing at least seven shots and six mixed drinks, and then proceeding to throw up in front of the girl that he likes. 

Oh wait, that wasn't a movie. That's exactly what happened to Liam last night. 

-

He had been there. Right there, with Dani, ready to say everything he's been thinking for the past two years, and then he almost fell over, and his stomach started to grumble and he just started puking. Normally, Liam could tell when he was about to be sick from drinking, which wasn't often. But the alcohol must have overwhelmed him enough that it just came without warning. 

Once he finished, he fell to the ground, and Dani was talking to someone on the phone.

"Yeah, he just threw up everywhere and I don't know if he passed out or not. But he's in bad shape, Zayn! I need your help!"

"Liam! Can you hear me?" Dani was frantic. 

But Liam couldn't find the energy to open his eyes or to even tell her that he was all right, just tired. 

"How is he? Oh shit! You weren't kidding about this mess!"

"Zayn, shut up. We have to get him upstairs or something."

"Hang on a sec."

Suddenly, Liam felt slaps across his face.

"Liam, you jackass, wake up."

"Zayn!" Dani scolded.

"Liam, come on, man. This isn't funny."

He groaned as Zayn started to shake his shoulder. "Get off," he mumbled.

"See? He's fine." Zayn said. 

"You're such a dick."

"Dani, he'll be all right," Zayn told her, much more gently.

Liam felt himself being lifted up, being supported by two people. 

"Christ, he's heavy," Zayn whined. 

"Shut up," Liam grumbled. 

"Liam, start walking, come on."

If there was ever a time that Liam felt like he was having an out of body experience, this was it. This was by far the drunkest he'd ever been. He was always the responsible one. Sure, he let loose sometimes, but it was always in the privacy of his own home, during a quiet night with his friends or family, not in the middle of a massive party at his friend's uncle's house in a city 30 minutes from his own bed.

Apparently, Liam started moving his feet, because Zayn said, "good, Liam, keep going."

Liam couldn't feel anything happening, but all of a sudden, the music got about a thousand times louder. 

They kept moving until Dani told him they were at the staircase.

Liam opened his eyes and looked up. People were moving over, seeing that the three of them would need as much room as possible. The staircase looked big earlier, but now, it looked like a fucking mountain. 

"One step at a time, babe."

_Babe? Did Dani just call me babe?_

Liam chose to focus on that instead of the impossible task of walking up the steps. He might as well be climbing Mt. Everest with the amount of effort he was putting in. 

Eventually, they did reach the top, and went into a room down the hall. He was being placed on something soft. Was it a bed? 

He reached up and found a pillow, snuggling into it. Yup, definitely a bed.

"I'm gonna go get his stuff from my room. And some aspirin. And probably a trash can. Can you stay with him?" 

Liam heard Zayn ask Dani, and he assumed she said yes, because he soon heard a door closing.

He forced his eyes open to find Dani sitting next to him, shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" he slurred out.

"You scared the shit out of me! I thought you had died from alcohol poisoning or something. I feared the worst. Why did you drink this much?"

"So I could talk to you," he admitted honestly.

Dani stared at him. "You talk to me all the time."

"No, not like that. I have to tell you. I had to tell you tonight. I don't want Zayn to tell you what I did because of you."

"Because of me? What are trying to tell me?"

"Because of how pretty you are. How nice your hair looks all the time. And you're such a good writer. And you keep coming to FIFA nights, and I don't know why, because you never play. Is it because you don't know how? I can teach you. I'm not  _that_ bad at it."

"Liam, you're babbling now. You should get some sleep."

"I like you," he blurted out. 

 _Fucking finally,_ he thought to himself.

"Ever since you first started at the paper. You're so talented, and beautiful, and funny and I've seen you dance. You're incredible at it. And I've always been a chicken shit and couldn't say this, so I'm saying it now. I like you. So much. And I just thought that you should know."

Dani smiled at him. "Tell me this isn't why you drank so much tonight."

"'Course it is," he said, as if it was obvious. "And if I didn't just puke, I would kiss you right now. But I also think that sitting up right now would be a bad idea."

"It would," she agreed. "And I'll tell you what."

She stood up then, unlacing his boots and putting them on the floor. 

"If you remember this conversation in the morning, then come find me. And maybe, if you don't have horrible morning breath, I'll let you kiss me."

Liam grinned. "I'm holding you to that. I'm not going to forget."

"OK, Liam." He felt a warm kiss on his cheek. "Go to sleep."

"Only if you stay with me."

He heard her kick off her shoes, and then she was lying next to him. 

"Good night, Liam."

"Night, Dani."

-

_Oh my God._

Liam felt around in the bed, but he was alone now. 

"Dani!" he yelled out.

"She's not here, man," came a muffled response. 

Liam picked his head up and looked around. 

"Over here, Liam."

He turned to his right and saw Harry laying face down in another bed next to his. 

"Harry? What are you doing here?"

He watched his curly haired friend carefully flip over in the bed so he was on his back. 

"Apparently, this is the drunk room."

"You got drunk, too? I didn't even see you come in last night."

"Yeah, we were late. We had to wait for Aiden."

"Oh, OK... Wait, where is Aiden?"

That was the problem. Harry didn't know where Aiden was. He hadn't known since he stormed off the deck last night. 

-

"Aiden! What does that mean?"

Harry moved to follow his boyfriend, but before he took a step, he heard a lot of cheers through the double doors leading into the kitchen. He looked in to see Louis grinding with two girls on one of the counter tops. He kept staring, even after Louis jumped down and started talking to Jake. 

Harry finally tore his gaze away from them, and walked off the deck in the direction in which Aiden had gone. But he was nowhere to be found. He called his cell phone, but he didn't pick up.

Aiden was bothered by something, and it wasn't Harry. But Harry didn't know what to do. He kept calling as he made his way into the house, but that was even more pointless. There was no room to move. 

He walked back outside, sending texts now. 

**_Harry: Where are you?_ **

**_Harry: What happened?_ **

**_Harry: Please talk to me!_ **

Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. 

As angry as he was that he didn't know what was wrong with Aiden, he was even angrier with himself that he didn't know. He was Aiden's boyfriend. Why didn't he know what was wrong?

After a moment, he looked around at everybody having fun, him not included. 

 _Fuck this,_ he thought to himself.  

This was a party. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do.

Harry returned to the dining room and grabbed a bottle of vodka that he was sure no one would miss. 

That was the last thing he remembered. 

-

Liam didn't press for an answer after Harry remained silent. 

The two boys looked up at the sound of a door opening. 

"Ahh, you're awake. Good morning, Drunkies." 

Zayn was especially cheery this morning as he walked in and opened the blinds.

Liam and Harry groaned and rolled over, blocking their faces with their pillows and blankets. 

"No, no, no, rise and shine, dear friends! It's lunch time."

"Don't you mean breakfast?" Harry grunted.

"Nope, lunch. It's almost 1 o'clock. Don't worry; it's just us guys now. Everyone else has gone home."

"Which guys?" Liam questioned. 

"Well, the three of us, Niall and Josh, and Jake and Louis."

Harry felt his stomach lurch, but he wasn't sure that it was from the alcohol. 

"Come on, my uncle called his chef in to cook for us. Whatever you want."

Harry sat up slowly. 

Liam did the same, but that didn't agree with him. He covered his mouth with his hand and ran out the door.

"I hope he finds the bathroom," Zayn shook his head. "I'm gonna go find him. We brought your bags in here last night, so get dressed and head downstairs, OK?"

He left the room, too, leaving Harry alone. 

He moved over to where his duffel bag was thrown, pulling out the sweatpants and T-shirt he had packed for the drive home. 

As he dressed, he tried to keep his balance and focused on one step at a time. He also moved slowly to stall going downstairs as long as possible. He wasn't looking forward to his friends asking about Aiden, because he knew they would when he showed up alone in the kitchen. 

When he couldn't put it off any longer, he made his way down the stairs. 

Harry heard the clinking of silverware on plates and entered the kitchen.

When he first walked in, he wasn't immediately noticed, which was lucky, because that meant that no one saw the glare that he gave.

The four of them - Niall, Josh, Louis and Jake - looked like they were in one of those ads for couples that met online and are now completely happy now that they've found each other. Or something like that. 

Louis and Jake were standing by the island, eating pancakes, bacon and eggs, and stealing bits of food off each other's plates. Occasionally, one would give a little stare at the other and look away before he could be caught, with a big smile on his face. 

Niall and Josh sat in chairs across from Louis and Jake. Josh wrapped his arm around Niall and leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Niall blushed and whispered something in Josh's ear in return. 

Both couples looked as if they didn't want any interruptions, so Harry started to back out of the room before he was noticed. 

"How about coffee? Will that help?"

_Fuck._

Harry heard Liam and Zayn coming down the stairs, so he had no choice but to go back to the land of happy couples, whether he liked it or not.

"Hazza!" 

Harry winced as Louis shouted a greeting toward him.

"Sorry, man," Jake apologized, much quieter. "You all right?"

"Yeah, just a bad headache," Harry mumbled. He sat down in an empty chair. "Talk quietly, OK?"

"Where's Aiden? Still sleeping?" Josh noticed immediately.

Harry just ran his hands through his hair without saying a word, pretending not to notice the look that Louis and Jake exchanged when he didn't answer.

He silently breathed a sigh of relief when Zayn and Liam entered the room.

"All right, Zayn," Niall said, taking the attention off Harry. "Everybody's here. Now spill. What happened with Perrie?"

Liam leaned against the island, resting his head to the cool granite surface. He let out a groan as Zayn started his story.

-

Zayn leaned down to kiss Perrie - their first kiss - but of course, as his luck would have it, he was interrupted.

"Zayn!" 

He dropped his head before looking toward the person calling him. It was Jeff, one of the boys from his Photography class.

"Yeah, man?"

"Where's another keg? This one's drained."

Zayn rolled his eyes. He knew he made a good call getting extra beer this year.

"There's beer in the fridge in the kitchen. Or there's a keg in the garage. Just back there."

He pointed in the direction of the garage. Jeff nodded, making his way toward it.

Perrie laughed quietly to herself.

Zayn looked down at her, not sure of what to do next.

"Can we go somewhere quieter? Where people won't be bothering you about beer?" Perrie asked. 

He nodded, taking her hand and leading her around the side of the house.

They walked toward the garage, and then Zayn made a move to the right, away from the party.

"When I said quieter, I didn't mean somewhere you could chop me up and dispose of my body," Perrie joked as they walk down a path lined with tall trees.

"Just hang on."

They walked up to a small wooden gate. Zayn opened it and ushered her in.

"After you," he gestured.

Perrie walked forward, and Zayn shut the gate behind them.

In front of them was a small gazebo, surrounded by small patches flowers still in bloom, despite the cooling weather.

The two of them walked up the stairs and sat down on the benches in the small structure, placing their drinks on the floor. 

"This is one of the places where I go when I need to work on my painting," Zayn confessed. He pointed down toward the flowers.

"I keep an easel there, and when I'm visiting and need to work on something, I bring my paints out. Sometimes I'll bring out big paper and my spray paint and work here, too. But it's quiet. And it's blocked off, so no one really knows about it but me. And my uncle of course, but he never comes down here."

"This is so pretty, Zayn. Thank you for bringing me here."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's no problem."

"Can I just ask you something?"

"Anything."

Perrie licked her lips before speaking again.

"When you said that you, kind of liked me-"

"I  _really_  like you," Zayn interrupted. 

Perrie smiled. "Right. When you said that, did you mean it? Or is this just one of those things where you hook up with me and then, that's that? Never talk to me again?"

Zayn furrowed his brow. "Why would I say that? I say what I mean, and I definitely don't want you to be just a girl that I hook up with and that's all. I really like you, Perrie. And I think that we could be great together."

She shook her head slightly. "I want to believe you, but... I've been down that road before. Guys telling me what I want to hear just to get in my pants."

"And I'm telling you that's not the kind of relationship I want with you. I want to get to know you and spend time with you. I want to take you on cheesy dates and watch romantic movies with you. I want to meet your family and introduce you to mine. And I think you want that, too."

"I do," she whispered. 

"Then we're agreed. Let's just take this slow, one day at a time, then? No strings, no rush. Just," he paused, "you and me."

Perrie hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. "All right, yeah."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. 

They stayed that way for a moment, before he pulled back. As he does, his arms fall from around her back to around her waist. 

He stared in her eyes.

Leaning in, he quickly looked down to her lips and back up.

Perrie leaned in, too, and their lips finally met.

Zayn breathed in, feeling the softness of Perrie's lips under the roughness of his. He moved one hand up to cup her face as his other hand pulled her in closer to him. 

The kiss wasn't long, but it was enough, because when they pulled apart, they were both smiling. 

"We should get back to the party," he said sadly. "I don't want my uncle's house to get destroyed."

"That's probably a good idea," Perrie agreed.

They kissed one more time before standing up and walking back toward the crowd, hand in hand.

As they get back to the chaos that is happening before them, Zayn said, "Oh, we left our drinks in the gazebo. I'm gonna get a new one. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm OK for now. I'm actually going to go to the bathroom. Meet you in the dining room in a few?"

"Sounds good."

They let go of each other's hands, and Zayn walked into the dining room. 

As he tried to figure out what he wants, he felt his cell phone going off. He reached into his jacket pocket and saw who was calling. Confused, he answered.

"Dani?"

- 

"So we decided that we're gonna take things slow and see what happens," Zayn finished with his story. "So yeah, everything was going great. Until a certain  _someone_  had to go and get sick all over my uncle's den." 

Liam groaned again as everyone turned to look at him.

"Yeah, man, I'm not even gonna ask about your night," Louis told him.

"Thank you," Liam mumbled into the counter.

"Let's be honest, though, Liam," Zayn reasoned. "That girl watched you throw up, helped me carry you out of that room and up the stairs and then stayed with you until you fell asleep. There's something there."

"Sure sounds like it," Niall agreed. 

"Well there you go!" Louis exclaimed. "Don't count yourself out yet, Liam. Talk to her tomorrow after the meeting and see what she says."

"Ugghh, we have a meeting tomorrow. I forgot."

"How could you forget? It's only been the same meeting since we started as editors." 

"I don't know. I just want to go to bed."

Louis rolled his eyes. "Get some food in you first."

Zayn agreed and asked his uncle's chef for bacon, toast and pancakes. The boys ate their food, talking about other people who were at the party - who hooked up with who, who was the worst dancer, etc.

"You know," Niall thought out loud as everyone finished up, "this is going to be the year of office romances."

Louis froze up next to Jake, not daring to look up. 

"I mean," Niall continued, "we've already got me and Josh. Now we have Zayn and Perrie, even though Zayn isn't an editor. But you're around enough, dude. Pretty soon, we're going to have Liam and Dani. Don't give me that look, Liam, you know it's coming."

Zayn nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess it could be."

"Hmm... Funny how that worked out." Harry spoke.

Louis finally looked up to see Harry staring right at him, his green eyes gleaming. 

He just took a sip of his orange juice, not saying a word.

\---

Zayn said that he'd be staying at the house for the rest of the day to make sure everything was cleaned up. 

Niall and Josh got into Niall's car, wanting to spend the day out together. He asked Jake if he would mind driving Louis and Liam back, since Niall was the one who had brought them last night. 

Jake said that it was fine, so he, Louis, Harry and Liam piled into his car to make the half-hour drive back to campus. 

Louis called shotgun right away, getting no arguments from Harry and Liam, who both slid in the back and dozed off almost immediately.

As Jake drove, he reached over and put a hand on Louis' thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

Louis looked in the backseat at his sleeping friends. 

"You know," he started, "Liam's probably going to go to his room and sleep for a while. Niall and Zayn will be out for the day. If you wanted, you could come over and we could..." He raised his eyebrows. "Continue what we started last night?" 

"Fuck," Jake said. He looked over at Louis, who now had a smirk on his face. "Yeah, I'll drop Harry off at the room first, then we can just drive over?"

"Sounds good to me."

Louis smiled at Jake once more before getting comfortable in his seat. He looked out the window and thought back to how his night ended.

-

Louis grabbed Jake's hand and the two rushed toward the staircase. They went up the stairs and into the bedroom that Louis had thrown his bag in earlier. 

Shutting the door behind him, he turned and made his way back into Jake's arms, meeting their lips together once again. 

Jake parted his lips so Louis could lick his way in. They stayed that way for a while, their breathing getting louder as they kissed, hands moving everywhere, from Louis' hair to his back, from around Jake's neck down to his ass. The two moved backwards toward the bed and Louis yanked off Jake's brown pirate jacket. He then pulled at the hem of the black shirt he was wearing under it. Jake took the hint, pulling away and raising his arms. Louis lifted the shirt up and dropped it on the floor.

Louis let his eyes gaze over Jake's bare chest, taking in the sight of his defined abs, strong chest and muscular arms. 

"Fuck, you're hot," he admired before bringing his lips back to Jake's. 

The two fell back onto the bed, laughing at their less than graceful landing. Louis began kissing at Jake's neck as Jake started undoing the buttons on Louis' shirt. When he was done, he tore the shirt off and tossed it to the ground. 

Jake moved backward on the bed so that he was lying diagonal across it, kicking his shoes off as he shifted. Once he was settled, Louis leaned down to undo the zipper on his pants, pulling them all the way off. Then he straddled him, lining up their hips. 

He began placing soft kisses down Jake's chest before moving back up to kiss Jake roughly. As he did that, he ground down, getting a loud groan from Jake. Louis did it again, this time feeling that Jake is as hard as he is. 

Louis sat up then, rubbing himself on Jake a few more times before hooking his fingers in the top of Jake's boxers.

"Fuck, Lou," Jake moaned.

"That's all you needed to say, babe." Louis tugged his underwear down, freeing Jake's erection. 

Louis took it in his right hand and started stroking it lightly. He moved down and spread Jake's legs farther apart with his left hand so that he could plant kisses along the inside of them. After he sucked a small mark onto his left thigh, Louis kissed just the tip of Jake's cock, before licking up and down the underside of it. 

Jake moaned again when Louis started giving little kitten licks to Jake's length. 

Louis palmed himself through his boxers as he quickly took Jake into his mouth, swirling his tongue around his dick as he bobbed up and down. He looked up at Jake through his thick eyelashes to find the other boy staring down at him, breathing heavily. 

Louis smirked evilly, before hollowing out his cheeks, sucking harder and going up and down even quicker. He took his hand off himself to grab Jake's thigh and massage the mark he left there. 

"Shit," Jake sighed, letting his head fall back on the bed. 

As he moved up and down, Louis needed some friction of his own, so he reached into his own boxers and starting stroking himself in time to his bobs on Jake. 

He felt that tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach that meant that he was getting close. 

It was like Jake could read his mind. "God, I'm close," he sighed. 

Louis kept up his pace, going all the way down now. All it took was Jake's cock hitting the back of Louis' throat just two times before he came, letting out a yell with Louis' name on his lips.

He stopped working on himself to suck Jake dry, swallowing every last drop. 

"Wow," Jake breathed. "Come here."

He pulled Louis up to him, not waiting to lick his way into his mouth. Jake sucked at Louis' tongue with his own, tasting himself there. 

"Let me," he said, pushing Louis' hand away from his own dick. 

Jake took it in his hand, pushing Louis onto the bed so he could lay on his back. He wrapped his lips around Louis' cock and moved all the way down, sucking for a moment before pulling off. He then started jacking him off while kissing at his chest. 

Louis' breathing increased as he felt that tingly feeling come back and intensify. 

"Go ahead, Lou. Come for me, go ahead."

That's all it took. 

With a few more pumps, Louis felt his orgasm taking over.

"Oh, God," he yelled out, his back arching up off the mattress as he covered himself in white spurts. 

Jake worked him through it until Louis' breathing slowed down. 

"Wow," Louis echoed.

-

Louis smiled to himself. Yeah, they would definitely be doing more of that soon. 

\---

"Holy shit," Niall said, barely able to breathe. 

"Got that right," Josh agreed.

They were in Josh's bed at his apartment off-campus. 

Josh's roommates were out, letting the two of them have some more alone time. 

"When did we get  _so good_ at that?" Josh wondered.

Niall rolled on his side to look at his boyfriend.

"Since you said you loved me."

Josh grinned. "Oh, yeah. That was pretty cool."

"I love you," Niall said.

"I love you, too," Josh replied. 

The two moved toward each other and Niall took Josh's face in his hands and gave him a long, slow kiss, thinking back to the events of last night.

-

"Fucking hell," Niall breathed heavily. "I'm set, Josh, let's go."

The two of them were upstairs in another bedroom in the house. They're on the bed and Josh has just removed his three fingers from Niall's hole.

Niall shuddered at the loss, but quickly recovered as he rolled a condom over Josh's dick. He grabbed the lube bottle next to him and rubbed a generous amount all over it. 

He kept stroking longer than he needed to, loving the way that Josh kept slowly opening and closing his eyes with every touch. 

Through labored breathing, he warned, "Niall, if you don't ride me right now, I'm gonna get up and take that ass myself."

With one final stroke, Niall said, "Well when you talk like that, how can I resist?"

Niall pushed him down onto the pillows. He positioned himself over Josh and slowly sank down, feeling Josh's cock filling him up, inch by inch. 

Once he was all the way down, he allowed himself to breathe, feeling overwhelmed by it all. They've had plenty of sex before, but not like this. This was "I just said I love you" sex, and it was already better than before. 

Niall leaned down to kiss his boyfriend, the man he loved, slowly and deeply, allowing his hole to get adjusted before moving any further. 

Once he was ready, he sat back up and brought his legs closer to Josh's thighs. He raised himself up slowly until Josh was almost fully out of him before sinking back down. 

He did that two more times, swiveling his hips when he was fully down.

"Yeah, just like that," Josh whispered. 

Niall bent down to place his hands on the bed on either side of Josh's head and started to pick up the pace. He felt Josh move his hands up to Niall's waist and squeeze. 

Josh's dick hit Niall's prostate, and the blonde boy lets out an embarrassingly loud moan, but Niall doesn't care. All he focused on was hitting that spot, over and over again. 

He rode up and down, moving as quickly as he can. He soon felt that feeling in his abdomen that tells him that he's almost there. 

"I'm so close, baby," he said. 

"Yeah? Well hang on."

Josh moved his hands from Niall's waist to grab his hands. He wrapped them around Niall's back so that Niall fell down onto Josh's chest. He planted his feet on the mattress and held Niall still as he began to thrust upward.

Niall couldn't hold back his grunts as Josh fucked up into him. He couldn't move his arms, and his lower body was so paralyzed from pleasure that he buried his face in the crook of Josh's neck as he had no choice but to just take it. 

"You want to come, baby?" 

Niall just nodded his head, not trusting his voice. He started sucking at Josh's neck, leaving a dark bruise just above his collarbone. 

"Then come. Let me see you fall apart untouched, baby."

Josh was relentless. He pounded away at a pace that Niall had never felt before, and he kept hitting that spot, making it impossible for Niall to hold out any longer.

Niall bit at Josh's neck as his orgasm overtook him. He groaned, sinking his teeth into Josh's soft skin, as he felt himself spurting hot white liquid between them. 

His eyes rolled back in his head as Josh kept thrusting, chasing his own orgasm. 

Three more times and he was coming, too. 

The two of them stayed that way, trying to catch their breath. When it got too uncomfortable, Niall rolled off, wincing from the sudden feeling of emptiness inside him, and Josh pulled the condom off, tied it up and tossed it in a trash can.

Niall's breathing started to return to normal before he forced out, "I love you, you know."

"I'm never gonna get tired of hearing that," Josh replied. "I love you, too."

\---

_Well this is weird._

Harry got out of Jake's car and threw his duffle bag over his shoulder. He was walking into his dorm. Alone.

When Jake said that he was dropping Harry off and would see him later, he was confused. Why wouldn't Jake just drop off Liam and Louis at their apartment, park the car, and he and Harry could walk back to their room together? It didn't make any sense.

He walked up the stairs and entered his room, all thoughts of Jake forgotten. Because he felt his phone going off, and it was a message from Aiden.

 _ **Aiden: Sorry to worry you. Took a cab back to Taylor. Got my car and drove home. I just couldn't be there any more. Don't worry. We're ok.**_  

That was it? That was the only explanation Harry got?

Fuck that, that wasn't even an explanation. There were no reasons given for Aiden's behavior, his anger, his storming off. And Harry still had no answers to what Aiden meant when he said "It's not like we'll last." There wasn't even an apology anywhere in that text.

Now Harry was angry, and suddenly very grateful to have the room to himself. 

He called Aiden, getting even more pissed off when it went straight to voicemail. 

The beep went off for him to leave a message, and Harry unleashed.

"You don't want to talk to me now? Fine. I'll talk. Fuck you. How dare you tell me that you don't know why you bother with me and say that we're not going to last? How do you think that makes me feel? I know something is wrong with you, and you won't tell me what it is. But what you said was just hurtful, and how you acted last night disgusts me. We're in a relationship, Aiden. In case you forgot. And we're not OK right now. Not even close. When you want to stop being a little boy and treat me with the respect I deserve, then call me. Until then, go fuck yourself." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think that answers everything for you! Hope you liked the different storylines.  
> The next chapter will be posted Wednesday night! I just finished it, but I want to proofread it again, because it's like, 1 am right now, and I'm sure there are some parts that don't make sense.


	14. Talk to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! I'm sorry! It took me forever to update this, and I feel like crap about it.  
> That being said, just know that it took me so long because I've been distracted from writing the next chapter because I've been busy planning future chapters. Like, parts of the storyline with major Larry moments.  
> It's been difficult writing the next chapter when I'm so focused on a few months in the future (in the story).  
> So, enjoy this next part. Feel free to speculate what Larry moments I could have up my sleeve!

The Monday meeting rolled around soon enough. Liam looked around the editors' table at his staff in the few minutes before Higgins and Teasdale were set to arrive so they could start. The dynamic between the editors was different today, and he didn't know what to think of it. 

Dani still sat next to him, but instead of talking to him like every other week, she was looking down at her hands and playing with her fingers. Every now and then, she would let out a loud sigh as if she was preparing to say something, but then... nothing. 

Niall and Josh were still their lovey-dovey selves, but instead of being loud and telling jokes while waiting for their advisers, they sat quietly in their seats, simply holding hands as they looked over their outlines for the meeting.

Perrie had her legs crossed and was shaking one foot. She kept checking her phone every few minutes, like she was waiting for something important to come through. 

Louis had his arms folded in front of him, leaning on the table. He lowered his chin to rest on his arms, sneaking yet another peek at the door before he went down. His leg was bouncing up and down under the table, shaking it. If Liam didn't know any better, he would think that Louis was sad about something. 

The rest of the editors just sat around the table, silently doodling on their outlines or playing games on their phones. Everyone was just really quiet today. Normally Liam didn't think that much into it, but today it was almost painful how nobody was really talking. 

He checked his phone. It was 4:25. He had another five minutes before he had to start the meeting, and they were just waiting for Higgins, Teasdale and Harry.

And then Liam realized something. Harry. That's why Louis was so quiet today. Usually, he and Harry would be joking together, playing Dots and Boxes on the back of their outlines until it was time for Louis to go over his section. Louis would always get mad at Harry and kick him when he lost, which was almost all the time. Then Harry would laugh and start drawing up a new game. And both boys would hold back their grins when Liam shushed them because they were being too loud.

At least Liam knew what was bothering Louis - he was bored. 

Just then, Harry came walking in the office, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that Higgins and Teasdale weren't there yet. But instead of being his regular happy self and saying 'hi' to everybody, he put his backpack in his office and sat in his chair at the table next to Louis. Using his folded arms as a pillow, he put his head down, not saying a word to anybody.

_OK, then._

Liam thought that Harry's appearance would at least get Louis to act like his everyday self, but he was sorely mistaken. Because now, instead of looking at the door, Louis was looking at Harry, waiting for him to sit up. But that didn't happen until the advisers walked in, apologizing for cutting it so close. Apparently, both of their classes had run late.

"Let's get started then," Liam announced.

\---

"Can we talk?" Liam looked over to see Dani looking at him with a small smile on her face.

_Fuck. Shit. Why is this happening to me?_

Liam felt like he was going to throw up again. But this time, it wasn't because of alcohol. 

All day, he had been worrying about this moment, knowing that he was actually going to tell Dani how he felt about her. But he would be sober this time.

And even though Zayn had reassured him that everything would go well, and Dani would completely reciprocate whatever it was he felt, Liam wasn't so sure. Because, as Liam always does, he started to overanalyze. 

What if Dani said that she would kiss him because she pitied him? A poor, lonely, drunk senior who couldn't stop babbling about a crush he'd had on her for two years?  

What if she was just being nice and didn't see Liam as more than a friend? He wouldn't put it past her. Dani was one of the nicest girls he knew. She would totally try to help ease his feelings if she didn't like him like that at all. 

What if Dani didn't think that Liam would remember anything and was just telling him what he wanted to hear?

His head was telling him to run away and forget all of this ever happened to him. But he went with his heart instead. 

"Yeah, I think we should," he answered. "Not here, though. Let's go for a walk?"

She nodded and the two of them gathered their stuff. 

\---

Louis leaned against the doorframe of the photo office, waiting for Harry to finish talking to the last photographer. He was giving her an assignment for this week for another guest speaker and kept emphasizing the fact that she would need to arrive early and to get her photos to him as soon as possible, since the speaker was presenting on Wednesday night.

After the girl left, Louis walked in and sat down on the edge of Harry's desk.

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam waved to catch his attention. He made a gesture that told Louis to lock up the office when he left. Louis just nodded, and watched Liam walk out of the office with Dani.

He waited for Harry to finish what he was doing on the computer. When he was finished, he leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes.

They sat in silence for a moment before Louis asked the obvious question.

"So what's wrong?"

Harry just shrugged his shoulders. 

Louis rolled his eyes. "Come on, Styles, tell me what's wrong. You're not very subtle when something's bothering you."

The younger boy slowly opened his eyes and looked at his friend. 

Judging by the look on his face, Louis could tell that Harry was trying to gain the courage to ask a question, and he thought that he knew what it is that he wanted to ask.

He thought back to what Niall said yesterday morning at breakfast.

_This is going to be the year of office romances._

"Can I ask you something?" Harry finally asked.

Louis hesitated for a moment before answering. "Anything, Hazza."

"Promise you won't get mad?" 

"I promise."

"OK..." Harry took a deep breath. "If I wasn't dating Aiden, would you and I be together?"

_And there it is. That fucking little leprechaun._

Harry looked at Louis expectantly, waiting for an answer. And honestly, Louis didn't know what to say. He could have gone with the truth, of course, and told Harry that all he wanted since the end of last school year was to be with him. Or, he could have gone with the excuse he'd been using from the start to hide his true feelings - that they work together, and it wouldn't work, and he just wanted to be friends. Even though the "we work together" excuse wasn't really valid anymore, thanks to his three annoying roommates. 

Instead, he questioned, "Where is this coming from?"

Harry shrugged again. "Well, yesterday, Niall said -"

"Don't listen to anything Niall says," Louis interrupted. "He's in love. Nothing he says about relationships is relevant to those of us who aren't yet."

Harry was silent.

"Unless, you and Aiden have said..."

"No, no, not yet. And I guess we won't be saying that ever, since he doesn't think we'll last much longer."

"Wait, what? He said that?"

"At the party, yeah," Harry confirmed. "He said he didn't know why he bothered with me, because he doesn't think we'll last as a couple."

"Harry, that's horrible! He can't have meant that, there's no way."

"I don't know, he seemed pretty serious. I haven't actually spoken to him since. He didn't answer me when I called yesterday, but I did leave a pretty nasty voicemail."

"What did you say?"

"Basically, I told him to fuck off until he apologizes for what he did. He probably won't call me after that, though."

"Damn. Never thought I'd see the day when Harry Styles would tell someone to fuck off."

Harry put his head in his hands and let out a loud groan, getting more frustrated at the situation. Louis was right. He never flipped out on people like that. Aiden would probably see that and break things off with Harry anyway. If he ever called back, that is.

"If it helps, I'm proud of you."

He looked up at that. "Why would you be proud of me?"

"Because you stood up for yourself. And that takes guts, Harry. You can't let anyone treat you like that, and you know it. Look, Aiden really cares about you. Trust me, I can see that, and I've only met the boy once. You're just angry right now, and that's not letting you see everything clearly. You'll get through this, whatever it is."

"I guess so, yeah," Harry agreed. 

"I know it. Don't work yourself up over it unless you know something for sure. For all you know, something happened to him and he just took his anger out on you. Which, I'm not condoning, by the way."

"No, I know something was bothering him, is the thing. That's what frustrates me, too. He won't talk to me about what it is."

"So make him talk," Louis said, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Blow up his phone, bug him on Skype, whatever it takes."

Harry nodded his head. "I guess I'll have to do that, yeah."

"Do it. You'll feel better once you guys talk. And it sounds like there's a lot of talking to be done."

\---

Liam and Dani were walking by the lake in the direction of her dorm. 

"Listen, I'm so sorry about Saturday," Liam started. "I never should have had that much to drink, and I definitely shouldn't have let you see me that way. It was embarrassing."

"Liam, it happens to all of us. Don't be ashamed because you let loose and had fun."

"That's the thing, though, Dani. I didn't have fun. Because the whole night, I was worried about you and what I would say to you."

"If it helps, what you said was really sweet. I just wish you didn't vomit everywhere before you said it."

Liam grimaced at the thought. "It was stupid. I was stupid. I should've just-"

"Should have what, Liam?" She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. She stood in front of him so that he was looking right at her. "What did you want to do?"

Liam froze. But Dani didn't back down. She didn't move or give him a chance to wimp out. "Well? What would you have done differently?"

"Well for starters, I wouldn't have puked on you."

"You didn't puke  _on_ me, just  _near_ me. But go on."

Liam smiled. "I probably still would have taken you to that den, because it was quiet, and we could actually hear each other. And I would have told you everything I said upstairs. Because it's all true, and it's what I feel. You're an amazing person. And you're so talented, at writing and dancing and everything else that you do. And beautiful. And I love having you around. You make me laugh, and I feel happier around you. And I'm babbling now, so I'm just going to stop and let you say something."

Dani just stared at him. 

Liam shuffled his feet, looking down at them when she still hadn't responded. 

_Worst decision I've ever made._

Suddenly, he felt arms around his neck and soft lips pressed to his. 

Dani was kissing him. She was  _kissing him._

Liam quickly snapped out of his daze, wrapping his arms around her, pulling Dani in close. 

His mouth worked slowly against hers, savoring every second. He breathed in her scent - honey and vanilla, he would recognize it anywhere - as his hand moved up to cup her cheek. 

_This is really happening._

Liam couldn't believe it, even as he licked at her bottom lip, deepening the kiss.

He didn't know how long it was before they pulled apart, but when they did, they both had huge smiles on their faces. 

"Ow!" he exclaimed when Dani smacked his arm. "What was that for?"

"Finally! It's about time, Liam. I thought I would be old and gray before you did something."

\---

The next night, Harry told Louis that he wouldn't be at FIFA night. Jake was at night class, so he wanted to take advantage of having the room to himself to call Aiden.

Even though he told Aiden to call him first, Harry knew that Louis was right. There was a lot of talking to be done, and Harry just wanted to know if he still had a boyfriend or not. 

The phone rang only once before Aiden picked up.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," he rushed out. "I'm literally the worst boyfriend on the planet. I swear, I've been thinking of nothing but what I said to you, and I can't believe you're even calling me now. I don't deserve you, and I know that. Please know that. Please don't break up with me right now, I can't face this without you."

Harry was surprised, to say the least. He didn't know what to expect, but that was definitely not it.

"First, why do you think I'm breaking up with you? Second, face what without me? What's going on?"

"You're really not breaking up with me? I'm so happy, Harry! And I'm so sorry. It will never happen again, I swear."

"Damn right, it won't happen again," Harry growled. "You really hurt me, you know that? No one's ever treated me like that before. Ever."

"I know, and I can't believe I was the person to do that. You were right. I was angry that night, and I didn't want to be at the party. But it was no excuse to say such nasty things to you. I don't know why I did."

"I would say it's OK, but it's not. If something's bothering you, you need to talk to me about it. Otherwise, shit like this happens. And I don't want this to be our relationship - you waiting to talk to me about something, or not wanting to, and keeping your emotions bottled up. Because that never ends well. Now will you please tell me what's wrong?"

Aiden sighed on his end of the line. "Well... You know how I said last week that my parents have been really happy lately? How I thought maybe they were working through it or something?"

"Yeah, I remember," Harry answered, not liking where this was headed.

"Turns out, they're seeing other people. Both of them. Already. Some guy showed up to take my mom out for their first date. And my dad was just so calm about it, like it didn't bother him at all. So I asked him why. And guess what? He has a girlfriend. My dad already has a fucking girlfriend. Her name is Charlotte, she's the principal of a middle school, and they've been dating for four months. So, since a little bit after we moved back. My dad also told me that he and my mom decided to divorce months ago, like in January, when we were still in Arizona. I thought they decided it when they told me and Libby. Nope. When they said that it's been coming for a while, they really meant it."

Harry had been silent this whole time. But he just had to know.

"And when did all this happen? When did you find this out?"

"Saturday night, before I left."

Harry felt his heart drop. "So basically, you get this bomb dropped on you, then you get in your car and drive down to see me and go to a party you have no interest in attending?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"And you told me you don't know if we'll last because you had your hopes up for your parents to reconcile, and they're not going to?"

"This is why I need you, Harry. You're the only one who completely understands this whole fucked up situation. I can't believe I ever did anything to hurt you. I honestly can't apologize enough. I'm so sorry. How can I make this up to you?"

"I already told you. You need to talk to me. I can't help you if you don't say anything. I'm not a mind reader, Aiden. But know this. I'm not dealing with that anymore. Once was enough. I never want to experience how you made me feel ever again, because it sucked. I didn't know if you were serious or not, but hearing you talk that way... Just, talk to me. OK?"

"You're a saint, Harry Styles. You really are. And yes, I will talk to you. All the time. You're the only one I really trust with this."

"And you still have me. I'm always here for you. No matter how angry you are or upset you are by this. I'm here."

"I know that. Believe me, I know."

The boys were silent for a moment. 

"So, are we good now? Please say yes."

Harry felt the smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, we're good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Feedback is always appreciated!  
> Chapter 15 is finished. So, it will be posted Monday night!


	15. Fire Hazard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank you guys for continuing to read this story!  
> Almost 1,200 hits. I still can't wrap my head around it!  
> Thank you!

The next few weeks passed by relatively easily. 

Niall and Josh remained their happy selves, oblivious to the fact that they were basically getting on the nerves of everyone who wasn't in a relationship where "I love you" was said every five minutes. 

Zayn and Perrie had their first date. And their second. And their third. The two of them were together all the time, slowly becoming the new Niall and Josh. 

Liam and Dani hadn't gone on an official date yet, both claiming that their schedules weren't matching up. Which was true, as both of them spent the majority of their free time in the office revising the pages until after the other editors already left. When they weren't there, they were in class, meeting with Higgins and Teasdale or trying to catch up on the homework they put aside to work long hours in the office on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Harry and Aiden were finally back to normal, having resolved their issues and coming to terms with the fact that long-distance relationships just fucking suck. And from now on, all emotions were to be discussed, especially the negative ones.

Louis and Jake were spending a lot more time together. Jake would go to the apartment on Tuesday nights for FIFA nights, and Louis would usually come to the dorm to hang out with Jake before going to the office or class. And Harry knew firsthand that Louis spent time in the apartment, mostly at times when they thought Harry wouldn't be coming back for a while. 

Yup, Harry has walked in on the two of them a few times since Halloween.

The first time he walked in, he found Louis and Jake right in the middle of a handjob exchange. 

Jake had Louis against his bed, his lower back pressing into the side of the mattress, upper body leaned slightly backward. Both of the boys were breathing heavily, and had one of their hands down the other's pants, quickly stroking up and down. They were kissing sloppily while their other hands were moving all over, in the hair, over the biceps, toward the waist.

Harry only had a few seconds to register what was happening before Louis and Jake broke apart, panting and staring at Harry when he walked in. 

"Uhh, sorry!" he nearly yelled, turning around and shutting the door behind him.

The second time hadn't been as bad. Harry walked in to find both boys shirtless on Jake's bed, making out. Louis was laying down, moving his hands up and down Jake's back, while Jake hovered over him, moving from his lips to his throat.

Harry managed to sneak out of that one unseen. 

The third, yes, third time, he walked in on Louis and Jake, he thankfully didn't actually walk in. He had walked up to his door, and while he was searching through his bag for his keys, he heard a loud moan from inside the room. 

"Faster, Jake, faster," Harry heard Louis begging.

He tipped his head back, looking at the ceiling and silently asking, "Why me?"

He turned around and went to the lounge downstairs, beginning his assignments. He would need to work out some kind of signal with Jake for when he had a  _guest_ over. Or, at the very least, a simple text.

\---

It was the last full week of the semester before Thanksgiving, and the Journalism department had taken that to mean it would be a good time for midterms. 

On Tuesday night, Louis sat in his living room, wishing his friends were over. Liam had cancelled FIFA night this week, claiming he needed a quiet apartment to work in.

"It's not even the middle of the semester. That was two weeks ago! Why are we having midterms now?" Liam complained as he looked through his planner for the fiftieth time that day.

He sat down on the couch and took out his laptop, plugging the charger in. 

Louis rolled his eyes as his roommate started taking over the coffee table that Louis currently had his feet propped up on. Liam was overreacting when it came to exams, as usual. 

"Liam, we're journalists. That means that our midterms are an article or paper that just has to be a page or two longer than the normal assignments. It's easy. You've been doing them for years. Just do one at a time."

Liam stayed silent as if Louis hadn't even spoken. "Shit, where's that interview I did? Right, it's in my email, let me go reread that one."

Louis got up from the futon and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to find plenty of food - that needed to be cooked. And from experience, Louis knew not to even try to make something that required an appliance other than the microwave. The boys needed to go food shopping, but they didn't want to buy anything and have it go to waste while they were away for five days for the holiday. 

He didn't feel like having cereal, again, and they didn't have any jelly. So Louis could've had a peanut butter sandwich, but that didn't even sound the least bit appealing. 

With a sigh, he went to his room to put his shoes and a hoodie on, grabbing his keys and phone. 

"Be back," he announced, even though he knew Liam wasn't paying any attention.

He got in his car and drove to the diner, parking in the lot beside it. 

As he walked up the steps to the building, he saw Harry crossing the street, heading in his direction. 

"Hazza!" he shouted to get the boy's attention.

Harry looked at Louis and his face broke into a grin. "Boo Bear!"

Louis just shook his head, regretting the day that he told Harry of his childhood nickname from his mother.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked. 

"Hitting the diner," Louis replied, gesturing toward the building. "I got no one to cook for me in the apartment, and we've got no food that I can actually prepare myself, so... here I am."

"Wait, why? Where is everybody?"

"Liam's in the apartment, but he's stressing out so much about his exams that he probably hasn't even noticed that I've left. Zayn is in the art studios working on his painting for one of his classes that he has to turn in on Friday. Niall went to the fine arts building with Josh to hear the parts of Josh's final composition that he has done so far. So that just leaves me, starving and all by myself."

"You don't have anything in that kitchen of yours that you could actually make?"

Louis shakes his head. "Nothing that the boys will let me do, anyway. I mean, we had a lot of pasta noodles, but ever since I burned Zayn's hand last year in the dorm kitchen when I was trying to drain the pot of water in the sink..."

Louis shuddered at the thought of Zayn's flaming red skin and the small bubbles that started to form that day. It was nasty, to say the least.

"Chicken?"

He looked at Harry, not really understanding the question. "What was that?"

"Do you have any chicken at the apartment?"

Louis racked his brain, trying to remember if they had any. "Uhh... there was some leftover from last night's dinner that Liam cooked, yeah. Why?"

"Sauce?"

_What is this? 20 Questions?_

"Yeah, probably. What's it to you?"

Harry smirked. "Let's go, then."

He started walking toward the parking lot, looking over his shoulder when he noticed Louis hadn't moved.

"Go where? The food is here. In the diner. Where I'm trying to walk into."

"Nope. We're going back to the apartment. Come on. I'm cooking dinner."

Louis felt his jaw drop. "Seriously? You're gonna cook me dinner?"

"No, I'm going to cook  _us_ dinner. I haven't eaten yet, either. I was actually going to the diner, too. Let's go, my stomach is growling."

Louis rubbed his own stomach when it started to growl then, too. Realizing home cooked food was a lot better than any diner food, he jogged up to Harry, falling into step with him as they walked back to his car.

"What are you going to make?" Louis asked once the two of them were walking back into the apartment.

"Hey, Liam!" Harry called out. 

Liam didn't look up or even acknowledge their presence, but he did start muttering to himself about his lack of sources for a story.

Harry started searching through cabinets. 

"Lou, any chance you know where the pots might be?"

Louis walked to the cabinet under the sink, showing Harry the pots and pans that the boys had. 

Harry looked through the selection and picked out the largest one they had. He filled it two-thirds of the way with water and placed it on the stove, turning on the heat, letting it start to boil.

"And pasta?" 

Louis went to the cabinet next to the fridge and pointed at the green cardboard pasta boxes that the boys had. This is also where the sauce was kept, so Harry checked his options before pulling out penne pasta and Alfredo sauce. 

"You wouldn't happen to know if you have any vegetables here, do you?"

Louis shrugged, leaning against the counter on the other side of the fridge. 

Harry snorted. "Alright, Lou, just stand there and look pretty, then."

"Now that I can absolutely do!" He cleared the counter off and jumped up a little, lifting himself up to sit on top of it.

Swinging his legs, he said, "just let me know when I can eat."

He watched Harry work, slowly adding the penne into the water once it reached a boil. Harry found a head of broccoli in the fridge and starting chopping it into smaller pieces. Once that was done, he took out another pot, this one smaller than the last, and added water to it, too. He placed it on another burner and brought it to a boil before adding the chopped vegetables.

After stirring the pasta for a minute, he started searching through the cabinets again.

"What are you trying to find?" Louis wondered.

"Parmesan cheese?"

He pointed above the fridge. "It's sitting up here." He stretched up to the fridge to grab the blue container, almost falling off the counter in the process. 

He tossed it to Harry. "There you go."

He thanked Louis and returned to the cooking. 

He went to the fridge, taking out the leftover chicken from last night. He cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and warmed it in the microwave.

A few minutes later, after draining the pasta and broccoli and mixing them up with the chicken, Alfredo sauce and cheese, Harry said, "dinner is served."

Louis jumped off the counter, excited to see how good of a chef Harry really was.

Harry dished out a large serving onto a plate and handed it to Louis before doing the same for himself. As they set their plates and silverware on the table, Louis heard a yell.

"Liam? You OK?"

His roommate came frantically running out of his bedroom, where he had disappeared to at some point while Harry was cooking. 

"I smell food. What did you do? Did you cook? Is everything OK? Is the stove on fire again? Should I get the extinguisher?"

Louis pursed his lips and sighed while Harry burst into laughter. 

Liam jumped at the sudden sound. "Harry? When did you get here?"

He was laughing too hard to answer, so Louis responded, "he got here a little while ago, Liam. And  _he_ cooked this, so no need to worry. Do you want some? There's plenty left."

Liam just shook his head and turned to go back to his room. "No thanks, I gotta get back to my article. Let me know if you need the extinguisher."

That set Harry off again, laughing even harder than before. 

Ignoring him, Louis went to the fridge and grabbed two water bottles before sitting down at the table.

He watched as Harry's laughter slowed down and he wiped imaginary tears from his eyes.

"If you're finished, can we eat?"

Harry nodded with a big smile on his face. 

"Are you really that bad in the kitchen?" he asked as he sat down.

"If you must know... sophomore year, I sort of set the stove on fire in the dorm kitchen. And Liam still hasn't forgotten it. Then last year, I already told you I burned Zayn's hand."

"So what have you done this year?" Harry questioned, pressing his lips together to stop from laughing.

"Nothing. The boys won't let me near the stove. Which is why I was at the diner tonight. Or, at least tried to be."

"Well isn't this better than some greasy sandwich from the diner?" Harry gestured at the meal in front of them.

Louis smiled. "Yeah, I guess so." He picked up his fork and speared a piece of chicken and some penne with his fork.

Harry watched for his reaction as he brought the food to his mouth.

"Jesus Christ, Harry," Louis mumbled as he chewed his food. 

He furrowed his brow. "Is it bad?"

"No, and that's the problem. I'm surrounded by five star chefs and I can't even approach the microwave without my friends watching me like I'm gonna make the thing explode."

Harry let out a quiet laugh. "Didn't realize it was that bad, Lou."

He shrugged. "Whatever. It's not like I'll be on my own for a while anyway. So I don't _really_ need to know how to cook or anything." 

The boys ate in silence for a moment, until Harry threw his fork down on his plate.

"Fuck it. I'm gonna teach you how to cook."

"Now?" 

"No, Boo Bear, not now. I'm hungry. But some day. Maybe after the break? I'll teach you something."

Louis shook his head. "I can't ask you to do that. I don't want you to wind up in the hospital. I'm due to injure someone this year. It could be you."

"You're not asking, I'm telling you. It'll be something easy, don't worry. You can't live your whole life on cereal and PB&J. Not after college, anyway."

"I guess I can't, huh? Well, OK. If you're sure. Wear something fireproof, just in case."

"Good idea. I'll also need something to protect my hair. That's the money maker, really. Can't let anything happen to it."

Louis gasped in mock horror. "Heaven forbid!"

"Exactly. You've already burned someone's skin. It seems only likely that you would burn someone's hair off next."

"I would never forgive myself, really," Louis joked.

"I don't think I could forgive you, either, to be honest. My hair's the best part about me, let's be real."

"Agreed. Then you really wouldn't have any redeeming qualities about you, I'm afraid."

"No?"

"No."

The boys shared a laugh at the sarcasm behind the conversation.

They smiled at each other before returning to their food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on the next chapter now. I think it'll be posted on Saturday!


	16. Kiss and Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, just want to say, you guys are nuts! After I posted the last chapter, the story got more than 280 hits! Which, for me, is incredible!  
> So thank you guys for reading! And like I said before, expect more Larry moments to come!

_**Louis: What are you doing in a half hour?** _

Harry read the text before looking at the time. He was  _supposed to be_ Skyping with Aiden, but that wasn't happening. Something about having to pack and get ready for Thanksgiving or something. He knew that Aiden was going to Boston for the holiday with his mom to see his grandparents, but he wasn't supposed to be leaving until Wednesday. He didn't know why he had to pack now. 

**_Harry: Nothing. What's up?_  **

It was Saturday night, and Harry was alone in his room. Jake had gone home yesterday. His classes on Tuesday were cancelled, and he was just skipping the ones he had on Monday, meaning he got to start his Thanksgiving break early. Harry, however, had to stay because two of his professors planned tests for the short week ahead. 

 _ **Louis: Liam needs the apartment, so we're gonna go play soccer. Wanna join?** _

_Oh right,_ Harry thought to himself.  _Liam has his date with Dani tonight._

Harry had heard the news from Louis on Thursday night at the office. He chuckled at the memory of Liam not being able to make eye contact with Dani all night, while she seemed perfectly fine. 

 _ **Harry: Yeah, sure. Rec center?** _

_**Louis: Haha. Yeah, right. Soccer fields.** _

Harry was confused. The soccer season was over, meaning the soccer fields were completely locked down. And even if they could get onto the field, would they be playing in the dark? 

_**Harry: Um, how?** _

_**Louis: Don't worry your pretty little head about it. You better get walking to make it on time. Soccer waits for no one.** _

Harry mentally agreed. The soccer fields were at the back of campus, past Louis' apartment building. It would take him at least fifteen minutes to walk there.

After a quick check of the weather - 47 degrees - he changed into a long sleeve shirt, running shorts and his favorite Nikes. Once he pulled a black beanie on his head he heard his phone go off again. 

 _ **Louis: Hope you have cleats, btw. Also, we'll probably eat or something after we play. Don't know how long Liam wants us out.** _

Fortunately, Harry did have cleats. It was a spontaneous decision he made when he was packing to move back to campus in August. He dug them out of his closet and used the bathroom before starting his walk. 

His campus was quiet for a Saturday night. Harry supposed it would get louder once he got closer to the frat houses. At least one of them had to be having a party tonight. It was the last weekend before Thanksgiving break. Why _wouldn't_ there be a party?

The wind started to pick up, sending a chill up Harry's spine. He started to jog the rest of the way, wanting to warm up a little before playing. He wasn't sure who exactly would be there, so he wasn't sure how competitive this game would get. 

Harry wasn't very good at soccer - his lack of coordination made sure of that - but he enjoyed playing the sport. Even if he wasn't as good as the others, it at least gave him something to do. 

As he neared the fields, he saw that the bright playing lights were on, and a few guys were running around the turf, just passing the ball back and forth. He quickly counted five of them. 

_Ah, three-on-three. Let the games begin._

\---

Liam checked the oven again. It was just about 8:00, and Dani would be at the apartment any minute. 

He was making lasagna, his specialty, and had been at it for two hours. But the meal was in the final stages, just needing to cook for another ten minutes before he could take it out to let it cool. 

He adjusted the belt he wore and flattened out his button-down shirt. He was nervous, that much was obvious. 

_It's just dinner. And maybe watching a movie. It's nothing big. It's not that big a deal._

But of course, all Liam could think about was everything that could go wrong. 

_What if the lasagna doesn't taste right? What if we have nothing to talk about? Will she think I'm funny? Will she find me annoying?_

A knock at the door made Liam jump. She was here. No going back now.

He stopped to check his hair in the mirror by the door before opening it. 

Dani stood there and the sight just took Liam's breath away. 

She was wearing a light purple long sleeve sweater, dark skinny jeans and black boots. Her light brown hair was crazy curly, just like Liam liked it. And in her hand was...

"Bud Light, huh? Nice."

She smiled. "My mom always taught me to never show up to someone's house empty handed. I figured we could use a few."

She walked inside and once Liam shut the door behind her, her lips were on his.

Liam sighed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her lower back, pulling her close. Her left arm, the one not holding the six-pack of beer, wove its way around his neck. 

The two of them moved in sync, tilting their heads at the right moment to get the right angles to deepen their kiss. 

Liam moved one of his hands under the hem of her sweater, massaging her back. He felt her smile against his lips. 

She pulled away first, but Liam leaned forward again, catching her lips in one final kiss. 

After that, he rested his forehead against hers. 

"Hi," she breathed out.

"Hi," he replied.

\---

"Hazza! It's about fucking time, let's go!"

Harry grinned at Louis, expecting no other greeting from him. He threw his keys and wallet down on the bleachers with the other guys' stuff and changed into his cleats. It looked like it was a newspaper event - Louis, Niall, Zayn, Josh and Stan all gathered around him, wanting to start playing.

"So Haz, I figured since Niall, Josh, Stan and I are the only ones who possess the most talent in this group, no offense -"

Harry and Zayn looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders at the minor insult. It was true, at least.

"- then you and Zayn should be on separate teams, so as not to weigh down the other players."

"Wow, Louis, thanks for taking our feelings into consideration," Zayn said. 

"At least he said 'no offense,'" Niall added. 

The other boys laughed while Louis rolled his eyes. 

"Anyway, Niall, Josh and Zayn, you'll go against me, Stan and Harry. Good?"

The boys agreed and took their positions on the field.

"Rules are simple!" Louis called out, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands. "No goalie, just passing back and forth. No grabbing of T-shirts, no pantsing. Stan, I'm looking at you."

Harry looked at Stan in confusion, but the other boys just laughed. He guessed he missed the joke somewhere. 

"And, we get the ball first," Louis finished.

"Uhh, why?" Niall questioned. 

"Because it was my idea to play. So my team gets the ball."

"Bullshit!" Niall countered. "Who had the keys to even get on the field?"

Josh cleared his throat from beside Niall. 

"Fine, whose boyfriend had the keys to get on the field?"

"Thanks, babe."

"You're welcome."

"If you two are quite done, then fine," Louis resolved. "You can have the ball." 

Louis dropped the ball on the ground and kicked it to Zayn. 

"And the game begins!" he yelled out, quickly charging his dark-haired roommate. 

"No fair!" Josh yelled back, but he was already moving down the field. "Zayn, pass it!"

Harry watched as Zayn did his best to block the ball from Louis and kick it to Josh, but it was useless. Louis was just too fast. 

After a few seconds, Louis wrangled the ball away from Zayn and was looking to pass. He found Stan, who was running toward the net. 

Harry supposed he should look alive, so he started jogging after his team.

All of a sudden, a flash of blonde hair moved past him, and Niall was fighting with Stan over the ball. It turned into a regular kick fest, before Niall passed the ball to Josh, who had appeared out of nowhere, and was shuffling the ball back down the field.

Harry admired the quick footwork of his friends, wishing he had been blessed with the ability to run, aim and kick at the same time. But unfortunately, he could only manage one at a time. 

As he slowed his pace, he felt something crash into him from behind. He felt himself falling forward along with whatever it was that hit him.

He hit the ground with a thud and rolled over onto his back. 

"Sorry, boss," he heard.

"Zayn? What the hell!" Harry exclaimed. 

"Well I wasn't expecting you to suddenly slow down, was I?" 

Harry grunted as he got off the ground, helping Zayn up once he was back on his feet. 

"Hazza! What are you doing?"

"Zayn, move your ass!"

The two boys sighed heavily and laughed at each other before joining their teams at the other end of the field. Neither of them was very good at the sport, and they knew it, but it was funny to see their friends getting so competitive over it. 

The game continued for another half hour before Zayn and Harry decided to call it quits for the time being. They sat on the bleachers and helped themselves to water bottles in the cooler that Niall had brought with him.

As they drank, Zayn looked over at Harry, who was watching Louis running toward the center of the field, calling out to Stan to pass him the ball. 

"He's really good, isn't he?"

"Who, Louis?" Zayn asked. "Yeah, he is. He told me he played soccer all through school. Even was up for a soccer scholarship. But he blew out his knee senior year. Scouts decided it wasn't going to work out. He would still need rehab for the knee, and even with all of that, he wouldn't be playing as well as he was. So he went for journalism scholarships instead, and you can see how that worked out for him."

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry said. "I don't know, he looks pretty good out there now."

Zayn frowned. The tone to Harry's voice suggested he meant a different kind of "good" than just "talented." 

He cleared his throat. "So Harry, how's Aiden?"

He heard the younger boy sigh before he simply answered, "fine."

"You sure about that?" Zayn asked lightly.

"Yeah, it's just..." He halted. "You really want to talk about this?"

"Harry, remember what I told you that night at the diner? You're-"

"One of us, yeah, I know. Just, I don't know. I was really looking forward to seeing him over the break. Like, face to face, instead of through the computer screen. And now I might not even get to. He's going to Boston to see his family on Wednesday, and I'm not sure what time my mom's coming down to pick me up on Tuesday. He's coming back on Saturday, but again, I don't know what time, and I have to come back here on Sunday."

Zayn listened closely, taking in the sad words that his friend was saying. 

"That's rough, man. I'm sorry," he apologized. 

Harry just shrugged his right shoulder. "It's alright. I knew this would be hard going into it. But it was so much easier in the beginning, before school and the newspaper took over my life, and before his parents' divorce threw everything off. I was really looking forward to spending actual time with him."

"No, I get it. You should be able to see the one you're with. Whenever you want. Not just once a month."

"Exactly," Harry agreed. "Sorry to say it, but sometimes I get jealous of you. You see Perrie almost every day. Same for Niall, Louis and Liam. You don't have to wait until holidays or hope for a weekend to see the ones you like. You just... can."

Zayn didn't know what else to say to Harry, so he just patted his back before rubbing it for a moment. 

\---

Two hours later, Louis, Niall and Zayn were in the elevator up to their apartment, having dropped off Stan and Harry at their dorms, and Josh driving home to his apartment. 

As they got off, Louis began speaking loudly.

"Wow, sure is good to be back at the apartment!" he yelled toward the door.

"Can't wait to get inside of the apartment," Niall added with a laugh. "Hope we don't interrupt anything."

"Sure do hope everyone is decent!" Louis shouted. "Just gonna put my key in the lock and walk in now!"

He opened the door to find Liam and Dani standing in the kitchen, smiling at them. 

"Thanks, guys, very subtle," Liam said. "I was actually just gonna drive Dani back to her dorm." 

"Wonderful!" Louis exclaimed, sweeping the girl into a quick hug. "Dani, good to see you, as always. Have a good night."

"Bye, Louis," she laughed, returning the hug and giving one to Niall and Zayn, as well. "See you guys."

"Bye!" the boys said as Liam and Dani walked out. 

"You think it went well?" Zayn wondered.

"Probably," Louis guessed. "I mean, it's  _Liam and Dani._ How could it not go well? Those two are supposed to be together."

Niall just shrugged, walking to the fridge. "I'm sure it went fine. What have we got to eat here? I'm starving." _  
_

Louis shook his head. "Niall, we just ate an hour ago. How are you hungry?"

"I know we just ate, but then we drove around for a while. Going down all those side streets, taking the long way to the restaurant and everything. My full belly wore off. I'm a growing boy. I need to eat!"

Twenty minutes later, the boys sat on the couch, eating pancakes and eggs. A little late night breakfast never hurt anybody. 

Liam walked in the front door then, coming to join them in the living room. He put his hands on the back of the futon and leaned down, as his roommates stared him down.

The huge smile on his face was impossible to miss. 

"So...?" Zayn asked. 

Liam blushed, shrugging his shoulders. "A gentleman never kisses and tells."

"Payno!" Louis and Niall yelled out, jumping up from their seats.

Zayn started laughing. "Details, man! Every single one! Let's go!" 

"You know, what, guys? It's getting kind of late. Think I'm gonna take it down for the night," Liam smiled, turning toward his room.

"Oh no, you don't!" Louis said, running over and grabbing him by the shoulders. "You have to tell us, come on."

"Seriously, come on. You kiss her good night?" Niall asked through a mouth now full of food. 

Liam's small smile answered the question for him.

"You did!" Zayn exclaimed, standing up now. "Tongue?"

Liam's eyes glanced down at the floor for a moment before looking back to Zayn.

"You did! My little boy's all grown up!" Louis said, wrapping his arms around Liam.

"Group hug!" Niall yelled, as he and Zayn joined in. 

"My god, you guys, get off me," Liam mumbled from between his friends.

The three of them just squeezed in tighter, laughing as Niall lost his balance and they all toppled to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't wait to work on the next few chapters. I already have one of them mostly written, but I gotta write a few to come before that one. You know, so everything makes sense.  
> I'm pretty excited. That's gotta be a good sign, right?  
> Anyway, next chapter will be posted Monday night!


	17. Sixteen Pages

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

Harry watched Louis take his attention from the game of hangman they had been playing to look at Jade and Jesy. The pencil he held in his hand was close to being snapped in half, and Harry wasn't sure why. 

Although, now that he allowed himself to look around the table, it looked like the rest of the editors had the same look on their faces. It was one that was part horror, part about-to-be-sick and part anger. 

The two girls exchanged another glance before looking back to Liam, who now had his head in his hands, and Dani, who was lightly rubbing his back. 

"We have seven ads this week," Jesy stated. "So, we'll have to go sixteen pages for this issue."

"I'm gonna die!" Louis yelled, leaning back in his chair and looking up toward the ceiling. 

"Jesus Christ," Niall spat out. "We have to come back from Thanksgiving break to do a sixteen-page issue? Who did we fuck over to get that sorry deal?"

"Niall..." Dr. Higgins warned. 

Instead of apologizing, Niall just sighed and started writing on the outline he had in front of him.

"This is a good thing, guys!" Dr. Teasdale reasoned. "This is good for the paper! We have more ads, more revenue, and while it is definitely a surprise-"

She was cut off by groans from around the table. 

"-it's something that we can make work," she continued. "We just have to come up with some extra articles. It's fine. If you need to, bump up some of the ones that you had planned for next week to this week, and we'll figure out the rest later."

"Why don't we take the first half of this meeting to send out an emergency email to our writers, have them more prepared for when they come at 5:30?" Higgins suggested. "Maybe they can bring an idea to the meeting with them when they show."

Harry felt the heat rolling off of Louis. He looked over to the Opinion editor to find him shaking his head and rolling his eyes. 

"That's a good idea," Liam agreed. "And we all need to be willing to write something, too. Even if it's not for our section. Dani and I are available, as well. Let's email our writers, as well as brainstorm possible ideas for them, and hopefully a bunch of them will sign up to help out for this week."

Everyone got up from their seat and went to their section's desk, powering on their computers.

Harry, not knowing what to do with himself, sat by Louis' desk.

Louis was sitting straight up, one leg bouncing up and down.

"Hey, Lou?" Harry asked quietly. "What's wrong with going sixteen pages?"

He felt like such a child for asking. Judging by the reactions from his coworkers, it seemed like it was something he should just know.

Louis, whose eyes are ablaze with anger, looked to Harry, immediately softening his stare when they make eye contact. 

"Sorry, right," he apologized. "I forget you're still new at this."

Harry smiled at Louis, who was trying to figure out how to explain.

"Basically, it means that we live here this week until the paper goes out. It means, we'll be here all night, every night, getting these pages done. You know how I'm usually finished before 8 on Thursday nights?"

Harry nodded, not mentioning how boring it is in the office on those nights when Louis leaves before everyone else.

"Well," Louis said, "I'll probably be here until at least 10 on Wednesday  _and_ Thursday. Maybe a few hours tomorrow, too."

"Why? Because we have four extra pages?"

" _Exactly,_ Harry," Louis forced out. He turned to the computer to put in his login ID and password. "Four sections, four more pages. One extra page per section. One more blank page for us to fill with articles and photos. There are ads, of course, but they don't take up as much space as it would seem. Seven ads are too many for our regular 12 pages. There wouldn't be enough content. So we each get another page to fill - at least two more articles per section, depending on what ads we get."

"But I don't understand," Harry stated. "We have all week for this, and Teasdale said we can move articles up from next week's plan."

"That's not the hard part here, Harry. It's just that we have two weeks left of this semester, so we were all set with our articles. Our writers had notice and were prepared. Now, we not only have to find writers for new articles, but we have to create new articles and rework our plans for both weeks. Plus, this late in the semester? Most of the writers aren't up for writing last minute articles. They're too busy worrying about their finals. Any writers we had signed up for stories for the next two weeks are saints, pretty much. Think about it. If I was your editor, and asked you to write me a 550-word article by Wednesday afternoon, which is just 48 hours from now, and you had final assignments due this week, and tests to study for, on top of final exams in two weeks, would you be jumping at the chance to do it?" 

Harry frowned. He didn't want to admit it, but Louis had a point: he probably wouldn't want to pick up any extra work this week. He looked around the room at his coworkers, who had their heads together with their co-editors. Liam and Dani sat at the table with Higgins and Teasdale, constructing a plan of attack, it seemed. Jade and Jesy were at the News computers with Stan and Leigh-Anne, trying to help establish another News article. 

He turned around to see Louis browsing a world News website.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to find ideas for a story, what do you think?" Louis snapped.

A moment later, he turned around. "Sorry."

"It's OK," Harry said. "Can I help?"

Louis' shoulders sagged down as he pleaded, "Please? I don't remember the last time I was caught off-guard by a sixteen-page issue."

"Alright, what articles do you have so far? What's the editorial about?"

Louis flipped the outline to the Opinion page. "The editorial is about how to safely decorate dorm rooms. It's mostly a fire safety piece. I have an article about how to shop and save for holiday presents and a letter to the editor praising the school's decision to start reconstruction on the visitor's parking lot during the break so it should be done by the time we get back. Somehow, that's the longest one I have so far. And I have a freshman writing about how excited she is to be going home for the break, because it'll be her first break home, since she couldn't go home for Thanksgiving. That also ties in to being grateful for what you have, and appreciating family, blah blah blah."

Harry nodded his head, taking in the information, and trying to figure out another idea for Louis. 

The good thing about the Opinion section was that the writers could write about almost anything, as long as it somehow related to the feelings or opinions of other Taylor University students, or just college students in general. 

"Well, you said something about writers being stressed, right? Well how about an article about it? Dealing with stress right now?"

Louis nodded. "That could work. Write about staying organized, and planning out what needs to be done. Don't let the upcoming break distract from studying."

"And, how about a cartoon?"

"Cartoons are always good. I wonder if I can get Danny to draw one up on such short notice?" Louis wondered out loud about the new staff cartoonist.

"I have an idea for it! It could be the mascot sitting at a table surrounded by books and stuff, wearing a Santa hat, like sleeping or something with how much work he has to do? It ties in the holidays and the stress article."

Louis' eyes lit up at the suggestion. 

"Harry, that's brilliant! I could kiss you, I hope you know that."

Louis missed the blush that floods Harry's cheeks, because he was busy typing a new email to his writers. 

"You've been on fire so far, Harry. Don't let me down now. I need one more story, to be safe."

Harry wanted to disappear into the floor. The expectant look on Louis' face was almost too much to deal with. Obviously, Louis was extra stressed out by this, and Harry didn't want to let him down. 

"Umm..." he looked around the office, hoping some kind of inspiration would strike.

Louis continued typing up his email, making sure to stress that he really needed people to sign up for articles if they aren't already. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed a "Happy Holidays!" sign hanging from the ceiling. He had it.

"OK, how about an article about what people are supposed to say this time of year? Like, how it's impossible to say "Merry Christmas" or anything anymore without offending someone? So now, we have to say "Happy Holidays" to everyone."

Louis turned away from the computer to stare at Harry. "I think you should be the new Opinion editor, because those are brilliant ideas. I'm using them all."

He finished typing up the email, now including the two new ideas and hoping that two of his fifteen writers would volunteer to write them. 

"Alright, everyone, let's run through this issue," Dani called from the table. "We only have half an hour now, so it'll have to be a quick run through."

\---

At 5:30, the writers showed up, and thankfully, Louis had his articles taken by two of his overeager underclassmen. He let out a sigh of relief once they walked out the door. At least he could relax about having his pages filled. 

After the photographers and writers left, the editors and advisers stood around the table. 

"Alright, so come in tomorrow to see your pages with the ads on them," Liam announced. "Plan your layouts tomorrow, and hopefully you can have some of your articles printed out, as well. Plan to be here late on Wednesday and Thursday, so I suggest getting as much done tomorrow as you can, including headlines, layout, photos if you have them already. It's gonna be a long week guys, so just brace yourselves for it."

He looked over at Dani and nodded his head.

"Go home and get caught up on any homework now," Dani suggested. "We won't really have time in the next few days. Remember, if you have any writers flake out of a story last minute, let Liam or me know. We're happy to pick up the slack and take the article. I think that's about it?"

She looked to Higgins and Teasdale for confirmation.

"That should be it," Dr. Higgins said. "And of course, if we're needed in any way, please don't hesitate to call us."

Dr. Teasdale smiled and nodded in agreement.

Everyone started to pack up his or her stuff. 

"Liam, you coming?" Louis asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"No, go ahead. I'll see you guys back at the apartment," he replied, sitting down with Jade and Jesy to plan out where the ads will go.

Louis walked out with Niall and Josh, finding Zayn waiting for them just outside the door. 

They waited for Niall to say goodbye to Josh before the three of them walked back to their building. 

"This blows!" Niall complained. "I should be fucking my boyfriend right now, not going back to my room, alone, to work on a paper."

"And whoever said romance was dead?" Zayn muttered so only Louis can hear.

He suppressed a laugh before adding, "I know how you feel, Niall. I was supposed to hang out with Jake tonight. Clearly that's not happening."

"Wait, hang out, or...  _hang out?"_ Niall asked. "Tommo, you finally getting it in?"

Zayn elbowed him in the side, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"You two are such freaks, wanting to know about my sex life."

"Come on, you know all about mine," Niall stated.

"Yeah, but not by choice," Zayn argued.

Niall laughed it off. "But seriously, Lou, are you?"

He shook his head. "No, not yet. We've done everything else but _that_."

"What are you waiting for? Get on it! We know you want to," Niall said.

"I don't know, it's just never felt like the right time," Louis replied. "We're either in the apartment, surrounded by all of you idiots-"

"I resent that," Zayn cut in.

"Or, we're in his room. And it feels strange doing it in there, because that's  _Harry's_ room, too. I don't want to have sex with a guy in my friend's room. Plus, sometimes he interrupts us..."

"Wait, Harry's walked in on you guys?" Niall stopped walking and grabbed Louis' arm. "That's hilarious!"

"No it's not! Because then it's always awkward right after he leaves, because we don't know if we should, you know... finish or go apologize."

Niall let out a loud laugh.

Louis rolled his eyes and looked to Zayn, hoping his other roommate didn't find humor in his situation. 

Instead he found him looking rather uncomfortable, eyes flitting between his own shoes and the news office in the distance. 

"Alright, I'm sorry, man," Niall apologized, wiping at his eyes. "That is awkward. But at least it was only Harry, and not like, your mom or something."

Louis shuddered at the thought of his own mom walking in on him. "Yeah, let's not put that thought into my head, Niall."

"Just trying to help."

\---

On Wednesday, Louis found himself at his desk in the office, working on his editorial.

He spent a few hours yesterday working on his layout after finding that he has one ad taking up half of his new page. Louis' section doesn't usually have ads, but it's at least a large one that takes up enough space to let him not worry as much about his pages.

It was just after 3 in the afternoon, and only he, Josh, Liam and Perrie are in the office, as the rest of the editors have classes. 

As he paused to read through what he had written so far, he saw Zayn walk in out of the corner of his eye, holding a memory card and cup of coffee. 

_Zayn doesn't drink coffee._

Louis watched his roommate walk up to Liam, who was reading an article at the table, and hand him the memory card before turning and walking in Louis' direction.

He turned in his chair and gestured toward the coffee. "Aww, for me? Babe, you shouldn't have!"

"Piss off," Zayn mumbled, flicking Louis' arm as he continued walking past.

"Ow," Louis complained, rubbing the sore spot. 

Zayn walked up to Perrie's seat. She hadn't noticed him come in yet, still focused on her computer screen. 

"For you," Zayn said, leaning in and placing the coffee on her desk.

Perrie looked at the cup and turned to look up at him with a huge smile on her face. "Thank you!" 

She got up and gave him a hug. 

Louis smiled at the sweet exchange.

_This is going to be the year of office romances._

He shook his head to rid of Niall's words from Halloween - the words that still haunt him.

"Zaynnnnn?" Louis whined, interrupting what he was talking to Perrie about. 

"Yes, Lou?" 

"We're so getting drunk this weekend, right? This issue is killing me slowly."

"Drunk? When?" Perrie wanted to know.

"Friday?" He raised his eyebrows at Zayn in question.

"Sounds good," Zayn agreed.

"Liam!" Louis called out.

"What?"

"Apartment? Drinking? Friday night?"

"Cool."

"I'm gonna tell Niall you're making plans without him," Josh warned.

"You act like these aren't plans that he'll be on board with," Louis laughed.

Josh couldn't argue with that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter will be posted Thursday night! Be happy that my state is currently getting attacked with snow and I didn't have to go into work today, otherwise, it might not have been done until this weekend.  
> There's probably only going to be one more chapter after the new one, and then boom! End of the semester. But definitely not the end of the story! I told you a while ago. This is going to be a long one.


	18. I Owe You One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4,700 words. Totally longer than usual.  
> Also, there's a little BJ action in this chapter. Just a heads up.  
> Enjoy!

"He has the flu! He has the  _fucking_ flu!"

Louis burst into the office on Thursday afternoon, ready to rant to anybody who would listen. 

"Liam! Fix it!" he yelled, marching right up to his executive editor. "Colin Billings has the flu! He had to go home, so he's not writing his article. What am I supposed to do?"

"Alright, Lou, hang on," Liam said. "Breathe. Which article did Colin have?"

"The one about managing stress so close to the end of the semester. He was supposed to be writing about keeping organized and staying on top of assignments and deadlines and trying to get work done ahead of time. And believe me, I'm  _sensing the fucking irony of this happening._ "

Liam looked down as he tried to hide his smile. It  _was_ a little funny that Louis was practically screeching about a stress management article not being turned in on time. It was already Thursday afternoon and just after 3 p.m. 

"Why didn't he turn it in yesterday? I know you told him on Monday that it should be done for Wednesday."

"Because he texted me Tuesday night saying that he didn't feel well, so he would work on it last night and send it to me this morning. Imagine my surprise when he texted me that not only has he not done the article, he's at home, waiting to go see his doctor because he woke up with a 103-degree fever!"

"Did you e-mail your other writers?"

" _Of course_ I did, Liam! I'm not an idiot. No one's responded yet, and I sent it out at 10 this morning. I need the article otherwise there's going to be a blank spot on my page. Unless you're willing to let me break the 'Opinion Editor can't write an editorial and an article in the same issue' rule, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

Liam was silent for a moment, thinking of everything that still needed to be done for the sixteen-page issue to be published on time.

"Fucking freshmen," Louis groaned, rubbing his eyes and dragging his hands down his face. "Why do I trust them? Why?"

"I mean, I can write it, if it comes down to it," Liam offered. "It's just, Dani's going to be out all day so she can write about that symposium, and I need to edit the pages..."

"I can write it for you."

Louis and Liam both turned to the side and noticed Harry leaning against the doorframe of his office.

"I don't have anything to do right now. All of my photos are done, until I get the pictures from Dani about the symposium."

"You'd really do that?" Louis asked. He was a little shocked. He knew Harry had never written an article for the paper, only taking photos since last year. 

"Yeah, why not? I mean, it might not be very good. I _read_ your section, Lou. I don't _write_ for it. But just tell me what you want, and I'll try."

"You're a lifesaver, Harry," Liam complimented. "Louis, just give Harry your guidelines for writing opinion. Give him the same ideas you gave Colin, and we'll make it work."

"Absolutely, yeah."

Louis went into the smaller office, sitting in the chair to the second computer desk in the room that was never used. Harry sat next to him in his own desk chair. 

"Alright, the key to writing an Opinion article is to just be yourself. State your feelings on the issue, and don't just repeat something that you think other students want to hear. Because, if you try to use other people's opinions, it's gonna be impossible to write, because you won't know what to say and the article might not even sound right once it's done. Make sense?"

"Sure, I guess so," Harry replied.

"Be clear about the topic at hand, and give as many examples as possible. Use information to back up what you're saying. Don't just write, 'This is what I think and if your opinion is different, then it's wrong.' It's OK to acknowledge a differing opinion or stance, but support your opinion the most. Still with me?"

Harry nodded his head.

"OK. So, the topic is managing stress levels so close to finals. These are just suggestions, you don't have to use them. But you could talk about how you personally manage your stress. Do you use a planner to keep organized? Do you write things down on Post-Its? A calendar? You could say that students need to take multiple breaks when studying or working on projects to give their mind a rest because otherwise they'd go insane..."

The entire time that Louis was speaking, Harry was, of course, listening. But he was also admiring the way that Louis had switched from the goofy, outgoing, sarcastic Louis that Harry has become so accustomed to, and is now the serious, passionate, Editor Louis that has earned so much respect over his years in his position. 

Louis spoke so quickly that Harry almost couldn't keep up, but Harry knew it was because this is what Louis did best - detailing what goes into a strong Opinion article and what a writer should aim for. Louis was so good at giving direction to the young writers, and it came from experience. He'd been working in the section his entire college career, and taking a leadership role so early on has clearly given him the a clear picture of a solid Opinion article. 

Harry was grateful for this, as he had no idea how to write an Opinion article. But Louis needed his help. He couldn't leave his friend hanging. 

"So, do you think you can do it? It only needs to be 500 words, which sounds like a lot, but once you start, and include examples, and write your introduction and conclusion, it's really not that bad."

He smiled at Louis. "I can handle it. I'll get it to you as soon as I can. Remember, it probably won't be good."

Louis rolled his eyes. "As long as it's done, I don't care. And I'm sure it'll be fine. Remember, this is your opinion. Just be honest. Don't be rude, though. Just, be up front about the issue. And you can use 'I.' This isn't an essay or anything like that."

Harry nodded. "Got it. Now get out so I can work on it."

Louis got up from his chair and quickly swept the younger editor into a brief hug. "Thank you, Harry," he whispered. 

Once Louis left the office, Harry found it impossible to keep a grin off his face. 

\---

"Let's have a toast, shall we?"

Dani paused the music to have everyone raise his or her glass. 

It was Friday night, and all of the editors (and Zayn) were at the apartment, drinking their tension away. 

"To this amazing editorial board for putting together its first sixteen-page issue together," she started. "Of course, we could thank the writers, but they're not here, so we can take all the credit."

Everyone cheered at that.

"Higgins and Teasdale had Liam and I worried about it, but we knew we could count on all of you to help make this issue great, and you proved us right. The sixteen-page issue came out wonderfully. We all worked together, some of us writing for different sections. I returned to my roots and wrote something for News. Jesy, you helped in Entertainment, Stan, you contributed to Sports-"

"And Harry saved my ass, coming through at the last minute," Louis added. "I would've been screwed without you man, I seriously owe you one."

Harry smiled at Louis. "No problem, Lou."

"Yeah," Dani continued. "3 pm on a Thursday, Louis? Not your best move."

"Very clearly not my fault," Louis defended.

"Anyway, just thank you again to everyone for keeping your cool-"

"Yeah, Lou, keeping your cool," Niall whispered loudly.

Louis rolled his eyes at his roommate. "Niall, please? We're in the middle of a toast. Thanks."

"And for putting out what just may have been our strongest issue yet," Dani finished. "Cheers."

They all tapped their glasses together before taking a long drink. 

"So we can have a sixteen-page issue every week, then, right?" Niall asked once everyone's finished.

"If you ever make that suggestion again, I will punch you right in the face," Eleanor threatened.

"I think we all will," Leigh-Anne added.

"Well now that that's over," Louis said, "Zayn? FIFA? I do believe I owe you a rematch after your pitiful performance the other day."

"It wasn't pitiful," Zayn defended. "I let you win."

"Yeah, sure, man. Whatever you say." 

Over the next few hours, the volume in the apartment went from loud to deafening. 

After Louis beat Zayn, again, in FIFA, Niall played against Josh. And those two were easily the most competitive people when it came to sports. That's why they always have to be on the same team when they play for real - they'd kill each other otherwise.

The girls played two rounds of flip cup - Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Dani on one team and Eleanor, Jade and Jesy on the other. They let out multiple shrieks and giggles whenever one of their cups didn't land upside down, which was quiet often. 

At some point, pizza arrived. Apparently, Louis called for it, and he didn't remember. He may or may not be about seven beers in already, and since he hadn't eaten yet, well, things were bound to get a little fuzzy.

"Oh, Stan, you can't keep up!" Liam taunted from the couch. 

Louis looked over to his two friends. It was just after midnight, and he knew that the party would have to wrap up soon, so they don't get a noise violation. Quiet hours start at 1 a.m. on the weekends, and if any RAs came by to tell them to quiet down, they might notice the few of the editors there that still aren't 21 yet.

Before everyone left, though, Louis still wanted to do one thing.

"Bow down, Liam!" Stan shouted as his player stole the ball on screen.

"Go, go, go!" he encouraged his player to keep running down the field with it. 

"No, you don't!" Liam yelled, standing up from his seat. "Come on, get it!"

Stan got up, as well. "No! No!"

Liam got the ball back and bolted down the field. 

"Get back here!" Stan shouted out. 

Liam's player kicked the ball, shooting it right into the net.

"GOOOAAAALLLL!" Liam cheered, raising his hands in the air. "Finally!"

Louis heard Dani giggling next to him. Of course, she, along with a few others, was laughing at Liam, who really wasn't very good at the video game.

He set his controller down on the table after telling Stan, "good game."

"Hazza!" Louis called across the room to Harry, who's talking to Zayn and Niall. "Last game, you and me. Let's go."

Harry's eyes widened. "Seriously, Lou? Come on, you know you're gonna win."

"So? I never play against you. And you can use the practice, right? Let's go."

Harry finished his drink and joined Louis on the couch. 

"And who knows?" Louis asked quietly. "Maybe I'll let you win."

He gave Harry a wink before turning to the TV to play.

"Louis Tomlinson, are you drunk?" Harry gasped.

He scoffed. "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Just, when you drink, you're more..."

"More what?"

Harry made that look again. The one where he wanted to say something, but didn't know how to.

"Never mind. Let's play. You're gonna go easy on me, right?"

"Yeah, not a chance," Louis smirked.

"But you said-"

"I know what I said. I lied. I just wanted to play against you. It worked, didn't it?"

As the game started, Harry knocked the controller out of Louis' hands and down to the carpet, laughing as his player stole the ball and quickly scored a goal.

Louis looked at the floor and back to Harry, who still had a grin on his face.

"Oh, it's on now," he promised, picking controller back up.

\---

Louis was lying in bed the next morning, scrolling through Facebook on his phone. He knew he should get up, but he just didn't feel like it yet.

He started to fall back asleep when a knock on the door shook him awake.

"Come in," he called out.

Harry walked in, wearing only a pair of sweatpants that Louis recognized to be Liam's. It took all of his self-control to not give Harry's bare chest a once-over, but he did it.

"Hey, what's up?" Louis asked, keeping his eyes focused on Harry's face. 

"Nothing, just been awake for a while and couldn't go back to sleep. Thought I heard you moving around in here."

"Only a little, yeah. So, did you have fun last night?"

"Of course I did," Harry said. "It's always a good time when the group of us can hang out. Even though we're together all the damn time."

Louis laughed. "Very true. I don't know how we don't get sick of each other."

"You sick of me yet?"

"Oh, very. I don't know how I'm tolerating you being here in my room."

"Well I guess I'll leave, then. And if anyone asks why I'm crying later, I'll tell them it's all because of you, Boo Bear."

Louis let out another laugh, louder than before. "God, why did I ever tell you about that nickname?"

"Not sure, really. You had to know I would use it against you somehow."

The boys smiled at each other, falling into a comfortable silence.

"Hey, when you said last night that you owed me one, were you serious?" Harry wondered out loud.

"Yeah, for sure. Just nothing stupid or that puts me in danger. And of course, preferably something I won't regret later."

Harry nodded, licking his lips.

"Well," he said, "I can't promise that you won't regret this, but..."

Louis furrowed his brow, unsure of what Harry was going to say. But his confusion was soon resolved, as Harry leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Louis' lips. 

It didn't last more than a few seconds, and it didn't go any deeper than that. 

Harry pulled away and looked at Louis, not knowing how the older boy would react.

He probably didn't expect Louis to pull back the blanket on his bed and pat the small space beside him. 

It was awkward, both boys trying to fit on the standard single college bed, but they somehow managed. 

"Hi," Louis whispered once they had gotten situated.

"Hi," Harry whispered back with a smile on his face.

Louis glanced down to Harry's lips, his perfect pink lips, before leaning back in for another kiss. 

Harry kissed him back eagerly, not waiting to wrap an arm around Louis' waist, somehow pulling him even closer. 

Louis felt his dick rub up against Harry's. The sudden friction made Louis sigh, and he moved to hitch one of his legs around Harry's waist. 

As they continued to kiss, Harry swept his tongue against Louis' bottom lip, and slid right in, licking all over the inside of Louis' mouth. 

He started massaging Louis' tongue with his own, and at the same time, started rubbing Louis' lower back. Louis moaned again, and started kissing Harry more roughly, fighting for some dominance. 

He heard his own breathing get louder, which got him even more turned on. He moved his hand into Harry's hair, twisting his fingers into those chocolate brown curls that he'd loved since the day he first saw Harry, all those months ago. They were just as soft as he remembered.

He pulled Harry's hair back, breaking away from kissing him and moving Harry's head up, giving Louis clear access to his neck. 

He started kissing along Harry's collarbone, moving slowly up. Very slowly. 

With every kiss, he heard Harry's breathing start to pick up, getting more desperate. 

Once he got just below Harry's ear and started gently sucking, he knew he'd found Harry's spot. The one that really got him going, because suddenly, Louis felt himself on his back, with Harry straddling his waist and kissing him once again. 

"Fuck," Harry said when he broke away. "Off," he muttered, tugging at Louis' T-shirt. 

He pulled the older boy up, who yanked his T-shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor. 

Harry pushed him back down, and started kissing all across Louis' neck and chest. 

"Harry," Louis almost begged. He needed something to happen soon. His dick was really starting to hurt from the lack of attention to it. 

Harry looked up to him and smirked, giving one more rough kiss before dropping down to Louis' stomach. 

He went slowly, teasing like Louis had just moments before. 

"Fuck," Louis whispered when Harry got to just above the waistband of the sweatpants Louis wore to bed.

Harry stuck his index fingers under the band and pulled Louis' sweats and boxers down in one quick move. 

Finally, Louis' cock was free, and Harry immediately grabbed it in his large hands. 

He started kissing up the boy's length, pausing to lick at the tip of it. He then licked a strip along the underside of it, causing Louis to arch his back slightly. 

Harry started giving small licks to Louis' cock, and used one hand to lightly massage his balls as well. 

Louis shut his eyes, letting himself enjoy every second of this. He let out a loud gasp when Harry wrapped his lips around the tip of his dick, though, and started going down, inch by inch. 

He felt Harry's tongue swirling around his cock as he moved. He opened his eyes again and looked down. The sight of Harry,  _fucking Harry,_ with his mouth around Louis' dick is more beautiful than Louis thought it would be.

Harry looked up and made eye contact with Louis as he sank all the way down. When Louis felt himself hitting the back of Harry's throat, he almost came on the spot. Then Harry started to bob up and down, and it's all Louis can do to keep himself from coming too quickly. 

He reached a hand down and gripped Harry's curls, which only made Harry go faster. 

They still didn't break eye contact, which made Louis let out another moan. He felt his thighs starting to twitch, so he knows he won't last much longer.

"Haz-" he forced out. 

But Harry didn't stop. He just blinked at Louis innocently and kept moving. 

Louis knew he was about to lose it. As he dropped his head to the pillow, there's another knock at the door, this one louder than the one Harry gave. 

"Louis! You decent in there? I'm coming in!"

_Fuck, no! I'm not decent! Zayn, go away!_

But all of a sudden, Louis wasn't gripping Harry's curls. He was lying on his side, gripping the edge of his mattress. He didn't feel Harry's lips anymore. In fact, he didn't feel anything anymore, just pressure from an untouched dick. 

He opened his eyes as Zayn walked in. 

Louis sat up slightly, feeling his erection underneath his sweats. 

"You alright, dude?" Zayn asked worriedly. 

"Yeah, I'm good," Louis answered. "Just... weird dream."

_It was a fucking dream. Am I in middle school again?_

"Oh... kay..." Zayn dragged out. "Anyway, time to get up. Harry cooked for us."

Louis now noticed the smell of cooking bacon entering his room. 

"Wait, Harry's still here?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't let him leave," Zayn laughed. "Kept saying you didn't want him to get caught drinking underage. You told him he could sleep in my room, like last time. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Sorry, sorry," Louis rubbed at his eyes, the memory of it all coming back to him. "Well yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright, well don't take too long. I thought I'd wake you up before Niall gets up and eats everything that's already cooked."

"Good looking out." 

Once Zayn left the room, Louis focused on getting rid of his... problem.

_Uhh... dead puppies. Vaginas. The doctor's office. Vaginas. My grandma. Creepy clowns. Vaginas. Childbirth. Other dead animals. Vaginas._

Louis kept repeating this list until his issue was taken care of. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, he rolled out of bed and walked out of his room, finding Liam, Harry and Zayn in the kitchen. Harry is at the stove, putting more bacon in a pan. Liam is beside him, giving just-prepared pancakes to Zayn. 

"Morning, Louis," Liam greeted. "There's some bacon already made here. You can take that. And I'll make you toast, if you want. How many pancakes?

"Uh, two pancakes, please. And bacon. I'll get the toast, though."

He grabbed the loaf of bread off the counter and placed two slices in the toaster. As he pushed the lever down to toast the bread, he looked at Harry for the first time. He was wearing the same sweatpants from Liam that he wore in the dream, but he had on a T-shirt now. The younger boy looked up from the pan in front of him and smiled at Louis. 

"Morning, Boo Bear," he greeted happily.

"Morning," he muttered before walking over to Liam to grab his plate. 

_Way to make it awkward, Louis._

"Wow, someone's not a morning person." 

"Who, Louis?" Liam asked. "No, he's definitely not. Consider yourself lucky, though. Usually he doesn't even speak until he's finished breakfast. If you ask him anything, he just responds with a grunt."

"Excuse me?" Louis asked. "I'm standing right here."

"Doesn't make it any less true," Zayn stated. 

Right as Louis was about to spit back a sarcastic remark, Niall stumbled into the kitchen.

"Food?" he asked, still half-asleep. 

"Here, Niall," Liam handed him a plate with pancakes and bacon on it. Louis wanted to laugh when he saw that there were three pancakes and at least twice as much bacon on the plate than on his own. "We'll bring out toast in a minute."

Niall nodded and went out to the living room, plopping down in an armchair.

"Josh still sleeping?" Zayn called out.

He got no answer, so the boys assumed that he was.

"Really, Liam?" Louis questioned. "And  _I'm_ the one who isn't a morning person?"

\---

On Sunday, Harry was at his desk in his dorm room, Skyping with Aiden. Jake was at the lab, working on... something. He had tried to explain it to Harry, but there were too many science terms for him to really understand. He just nodded in all the right places while Jake was talking.

"I'm so glad I'm not doing anything over Christmas break. We can actually spend time together. And it's going to be a lot of time," Aiden gushed. 

Harry smiled. It was true. There was only one more week of classes, then one week of finals, and then he was home for five weeks for winter break. And unlike Thanksgiving break, Aiden would be home the whole time. So he would see his boyfriend more than the one time he was able to see Aiden over the last break. 

"I honestly can't wait," Harry responded. "There are so many movies I want to see. And Gemma told me they redid the mall. I want to see the new stores that are there."

"We will do all of that. And a lot more. I want to go to New York. Let's go to Rockefeller Center and see the Christmas tree! I haven't seen it since..."

"Ninth grade," Harry finished. "I remember. Our moms took us up for the day. And we thought we were so cool because we didn't have to sit with them on the train."

"We had to sit in the same car as them, but still, we were so mature."

"And we went to M&M World and got giant bags of M&Ms and got so sick on the train back because we just wouldn't stop eating them."

"I didn't eat chocolate for a month!" Aiden exclaimed. 

Aiden laughed at the memory and Harry soon joined in. 

He heard the door open then and turned to see Jake and Louis walking in, cheeks red from the cold weather outside. 

"Hey, guys," he greeted. "What's up?"

Louis, noticing that Harry was talking to Aiden, nodded toward him and walked over to Jake's bed before hopping up onto it, letting his legs swing back and forth over the side of it.

"Going to the movies," Jake answered. He looked at the computer screen and walked over to the desk. "Hey, Aiden!"

"Hey, Jake! How's it going, man?"

"Good. You know, same old, same old. You?"

"Pretty much the same, you know. Can't complain."

"Glad to hear it, man. You making plans with Harry for over break? You got a lot of time to fill, dude."

Aiden smiled. "Yeah, I know. I fully intend to see him as much as he lets me."

Harry blushed. 

"Damn straight, you do." Jake pointed toward the computer's camera. "Well don't let us bug you guys. We're headed out in a minute."

"Nah, it's cool, take your time," Harry assured.

Jake shook his head at that. "I'm just gonna run to the bathroom," he said to Louis.

The older boy nodded while staring down at his phone. 

Once the door shut behind Jake, the tension in the room immediately rose.

Harry looked at Louis, surprised to see how comfortable he looks just lounging on Jake's bed. 

For some reason, he didn't like that. 

Louis put his phone in his pocket and looked up. 

"What's up?" he asked with a sigh.

"Nothing, Lou. I mean, it's been such a long time since I've seen you."

"I know, like 24 hours. It's crazy. Never let that happen again, Curly."

"Never again," Harry joked.

Aiden cleared his throat on his end of the computer. 

Harry turned back to him and smiled into the camera. 

"Hi, Aiden," Louis greeted tightly.

"Hi, Louis. How are you?" Aiden asked.

"Fine. You?"

"Good, thanks. Just talking to Harry here."

"Really? What a coincidence. So am I."

Harry frowned at the exchange, unsure of when his boyfriend and his friend decided to start talking like they've never met before. 

"Alright, ready?" Jake asked, walking back into the room.

"Yup," Louis answered, jumping down from the bed. "See you, Hazza."

Harry noticed that he smirked toward the computer on the way out.

After the two boys were gone, Harry turned around to face Aiden again.

"So what were we talking about?"

"I thought the party at Louis' was on Friday night," Aiden said.

"Yeah, it was."

"So how did you see Louis 24 hours ago? It's like 2 o'clock."

"Oh yeah," Harry explained. "Well I stayed over that night, because by the time we all finished, it was after 1, almost 2 in the morning. And I was exhausted, so they just told me to stay over since my dorm is so far away, and nobody felt like driving me back. Niall's boyfriend stayed over, too. So I offered to cook breakfast, just to say thank you. Well, it was really lunch, because once Louis and Niall got out of bed, it was after 12. I hung out for a little, then I came back."

Aiden nodded. "Oh."

"Yup."

"OK, then. Uh, Harry I gotta go. Mom's making me go Christmas shopping with her. So I'll talk to you later?"

"Um, yeah, yeah. Definitely."

"Alright, see you."

Aiden signed off then, leaving Harry staring at a blank computer screen. 

He furrowed his brow, confused at the abrupt end to the conversation. Was it just him, or did Aiden seem... mad that Harry hung out with Louis yesterday? It wasn't like he was with just Louis. Liam, Zayn, Niall and Josh were all there, too. 

_I'm just imagining things._

Harry tried to push the silly thoughts out of his head. There was no way that Aiden was jealous of Louis. He had no reason to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like how this chapter wound up. Originally, I planned on having something else happen at the end instead of the Skype convo, but what I planned just didn't flow right with the rest of the chapter. But don't worry, it'll show up in 2 chapters!  
> Next chapter will be the end of the semester. And with the end of a semester, has to come drama. That chapter is almost finished, so it'll be posted Tuesday night!  
> Thanks for reading!


	19. Serious Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this monster of an update wound up being more than 6,000 words. Yeah, I got a little carried away. But based on the title, I figured I would be allowed, lol.  
> Just a heads up, you know how every fic has a chapter where everything just goes to shit? Yeah, this is that chapter.  
> I pretty much felt my heart breaking while writing this. The third 'serious conversation' made me very upset.  
> So, I'm sorry in advance.

It was Wednesday night. Finally. Louis was sitting at his desk with Harry in the chair next to him, as usual.

"So what are your plans for break?" Harry asked.

Louis shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing special, really. Probably just hanging out with my sisters and my mom. Maybe try to hang with Zayn and Liam."

"You guys live close to each other?"

"Zayn's about a half hour away from me, and Liam's another twenty minutes away from him. Liam actually lives kinda close to here."

"Lucky. I think the person who lives closest to me is Niall, and even he's about an hour away from me."

"Where do you live again?"

"Just outside of Hoboken."

Louis nodded his head. "Right, New York."

"Not New York," Harry laughed.

"Sure, Curly. Whatever you say. What are your plans for break?"

"Nothing planned yet. Probably just see my family, and..."

Harry watched Louis' face very carefully before saying the next part.

"Aiden and I are supposed to hang out. Possibly go to New York. You know, the real one."

Louis stiffened slightly at the mention of Aiden's name. And Harry's sure that his right eye twitched slightly, as well.

_Definitely not good._

"New York, huh? Sounds like fun."

"Yeah," Harry said slowly. "I haven't been to the city in a while. Since the summer, I guess?"

"You know I've never been to New York City?"

"What? Why? What are you waiting for?"

Louis shrugged again. "Just never been. Never really had a reason to before."

"You have to go, Lou. It's so great. Obviously, you should do all the touristy things, but even if you just go and people watch... You'll love it."

"I guess you go to New York a lot?"

"Not a lot," Harry replied. "But often enough. I love the city, but I couldn't live there."

"No? How come?"

"Too crowded. That's what helped me decide that I wanted to come here, actually. This place is small enough that I can walk everywhere on campus easily. There will be people in my classes that I'll know my whole college career, not just for one semester. My professors actually know my name. I wouldn't have had that experience in a big city school."

After a pause, Harry continued, "But New York also helped me realize something else."

Louis watched the younger editor as he figured out what he wanted to say next. 

"I realized I was gay when I was in New York. Just, because you can stand in one spot and be passed by thousands of people? And not one of those people is similar to another person who also walks by you. No two of those people will look alike or have similar backgrounds or thought processes or anything. In New York, people are free to be who they want. You see all kinds of people at any given spot in that city. There's less judgment toward someone for being who he or she is. And that was comforting. Like, if people who walked by me could express themselves the way they wanted to, what was stopping me? I mean, I always knew I was, I just couldn't admit it. New York made me comfortable with myself, and I came out to my mom, and after that, my sister, and my friends. And that was it. Never looked back."

Louis couldn't tear his gaze away from Harry. That was, hands down, the most personal thing that Harry, maybe anybody, had ever shared with him. 

He reached over and grabbed his hand. "Thank you for sharing that with me," he said, smiling. "Guess this means you'll have to take me to New York one day."

Harry grinned back. "Yeah? What are you doing over break?"

"Apparently, going to New York."

Just then, someone cleared his throat behind them. 

Louis and Harry turned to see Zayn watching them, squinted eyes flickering between Louis and Harry's faces and Louis' hand, which was still holding Harry's.

"Um, Harry, I have pictures for you from the basketball game this afternoon."

Louis noticed the flash card in Zayn's hand. 

"Great, thanks," Harry said, gently pulling his hand from Louis'. "I'll go put these on the server and give this right back to you."

He walked into his office, and Louis found himself avoiding Zayn's stare.

"You almost done here, Lou?" Zayn asked.

Louis nodded, not sure if he's supposed to say anything.

"Hey, Niall?" Zayn called across the room. "You leaving here soon?"

Niall turned around in his chair. "I wish, dude. I got at least another hour, probably more. Gotta get the basketball story in and edited."

"Sucks," Zayn responded. 

"Tell me about it." Niall returned to his computer. 

"Liam?"

Liam glanced up from the page he was reading. "You're not seriously asking  _me_ if I'm leaving any time soon, are you?"

Zayn smirked. "Just making sure."

He looked back to Louis. "Well, come back soon, roomie. We can talk about a few things."

Louis pursed his lips before nodding again. 

_This wasn't going to be a fun conversation._

Harry came back then and returned Zayn's flash card. "Here you go, man. Photos look good."

"Glad to hear it," Zayn replied. "Louis, I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"Yup," Louis answered quietly. 

Zayn walked over to Perrie's desk, planting a kiss on the top of her head, and talking with her for a few minutes before he left the office.

"Is he OK?" Harry wondered. 

"Yeah, he's good. Just needs someone to talk to. I'm actually gonna head back, make sure he's all good."

"That's probably a good idea. He seemed a little tense."

Louis shut down his computer and got his stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Last Thursday night in the office for the year. I'll absolutely be here."

\---

"Zaynie! I'm home!"

Louis walked into the apartment and into the living room. He found Zayn lounging on the couch, flicking through channels on the television.

When he saw Louis walk in, he turned the TV off and sat up. 

"Let's talk," Louis said, sitting down on the futon.

"Yeah, let's. What are you doing?"

"You'll have to be more specific, I'm afraid."

"With Harry. And with Jake."

"Uh, Harry's my friend, and I'm hooking up with Jake. Thought that was obvious."

"It's obvious that you're hooking up with Jake, sure. But 'just friends' with Harry? You sure about that one?"

"Zayn, two guys can be friends without it having to mean something. I mean, we're friends, and I don't want to blow you."

"Not what I'm talking about, Lou." Zayn sighed. "I remember you having a crush on Harry a couple months ago."

"Yeah, a crush. _Months_ ago, Zayn. I got over it."

"Did you? Because I remember you being more than a little jealous when Harry first started dating Aiden."

Louis rolled his eyes. "Not true."

"And you two are always handsy at meetings on Monday, whispering in each other's ears and finding little ways to touch each other."

"Definitely not true."

"And you can never keep your eyes off him for more than a few minutes when you guys are in the same room - at FIFA nights, when Harry's over. I'll bet you didn't notice the long line of drool coming from your mouth when you walked in to find Harry cooking us breakfast over the weekend."

"Zayn, I don't know what you're getting at. There was definitely no drool. I don't find reasons to touch Harry, and I absolutely don't stare."

"Yes, you do, Louis!" Zayn exclaimed. "You don't even notice it, but I do. Other people probably do, too. _You like Harry_. Just admit it."

"Alright, fine. Fine! I like Harry! So what?"

Zayn dropped his head in his hands before letting out a loud groan. "So what? So tell him! What's stopping you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that I've rejected him and told him nothing would ever happen between us. Also, I'm with Jake."

"You're not  _with_ anyone. You just said yourself that Jake is just someone you hook up with. And wait, what do you mean you rejected him?"

Louis squeezed his eyes shut. He forgot he hadn't actually told anyone about kissing Harry and telling him that they weren't going to be together. 

"I mean, we sort of kissed over the summer, and then I told him that it couldn't happen because we work together?"

He opened one eye to see Zayn staring at him with a shocked look on his face.

"You turned him down? He admitted that he liked you, too, and you said no? What is wrong with you?" 

And suddenly Zayn was on his feet, looking down at Louis. 

"Why would you do that? You could actually be in a real relationship right now-"

"And who ever said I wanted a relationship?" Louis was on his feet now, too. "Who said that? I sure as hell didn't! I don't want a relationship; I don't need one. I've got a good thing going with Jake, and guess what we also forgot? Aiden. Harry's boyfriend. We forgot all about him, the boy that keeps screwing up, but Harry keeps letting back in."

"Oh, Lou, does it bother you that Aiden isn't treating Harry the way you think he should be treated? I wonder why."

"Shut up, Zayn. Besides, I'm the reason Harry's even dating that prick. If Harry wants to be with him, then I can't stop him."

"Yes you can, Louis!" Zayn was yelling now. "You don't see how Harry looks back at you. If you said something, I bet anything that Harry would drop Aiden for you in a heartbeat."

"No he wouldn't. Harry's not that kind of person."

"Oh, you know what kind of person he is, do you? Look at that."

"I  _swear to God,_ Zayn..."

"What? What are you going to do? Nothing! Because you know I'm right. Just go be with Harry, we all know you want to!"

"You know what? I will go. I wonder what Jake's up to right now? I think I'll pay him a visit. I'm in the mood to get off right about now."

Louis turned away from Zayn and started walking toward the door.

"Is that why you haven't slept with him yet? He's not Harry?"

Louis stopped where he stood.

"You said you didn't want to sleep with him in Harry's room. Think it's a little disrespectful?"

Louis could feel his temper rising, heat flooding his face. He needed to get out of there before he said something he would regret later.

He looked over his shoulder before spitting out, "Fuck you, Zayn."

He walked out the door, ignoring Zayn's calls after him to come back.

\---

It was almost 10 o'clock that night, and Harry was still at the office. Louis left almost two hours ago, and since then, almost everyone else had left, too. Only he, Liam, Niall and Stan were left. Harry peeked out into the main office to find Liam sitting with Stan, trying to finish one of the news articles. Niall was at his computer, looking through the pictures of the basketball game to find one that he wanted to use.

Harry sat back down and heard his phone go off again. He had been texting Aiden for the past hour. 

 _ **Aiden: Oh, so I checked, and the tree at Rockefeller will be lit until January 7. We have until then to go see it.** _

Harry smiled at the message. He couldn't wait to go back to New York and see the tree for the first time in years. 

 _ **Harry: Perfect, we have plenty of time. I do want to go asap, though.**_

Harry figured they had a solid two weeks before the tree was taken down, but he didn't want to risk missing it by putting it off until the last minute. 

 _ **Aiden: Absolutely! We'll pick a day once you're back for break for good. Focus on your exams first! =)** _

**_Harry: Yeah, yeah. Whatever. New York, here we come!_  
**

Speaking of New York, it looked like Harry had another New York trip to plan. He still couldn't believe that Louis had never been to New York before. New York, one of Harry's favorite places. Where Harry had made some of his greatest decisions about life. 

He started thinking of places where he could take Louis. Obviously, Times Square was at the top of the list. Maybe the Empire State Building? He didn't know if Louis was afraid of heights or anything. He would have to ask. Central Park should be visited, too. It wasn't a touristy trip to NYC without seeing Central Park. Maybe Madame Tussauds? Chinatown? One of the history museums?

 _Nah,_ Harry thought to himself. No way Louis would have the attention span for a history museum.

He made a note to talk to Louis before they left for break and tell him the ideas he was having. Maybe Louis had a place that he really wanted to see. And if there was one, Harry had to make sure they went there.

Harry was suddenly struck with the realization that this wasn't normal. He was putting more thought into a day with Louis than he put into the day that he and Aiden were going to spend in the same city. 

No, it was just because it was exciting to show Louis his city for the first time. That's all it was. 

Although, Harry had been thinking this for a little while. He was just as excited to get texts from Louis as he was for texts from Aiden. And depending on the day he was having, he was sometimes more eager to hear from Louis, who could always cheer him up when he was feeling down.

The longer he went without seeing his boyfriend, the less he missed him. Shouldn't it have been the other way around? Harry wasn't sure. He'd never had a long-distance relationship before. He didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling. 

But he was sure that there was something not right with the way he thought sometimes.

_Definitely not normal._

Harry heard a knock at his door. He turned to see Niall holding a piece of paper.

"OK, I'm stuck between these two photos, so can you just edit them both? I'll ask Josh which one he likes better tomorrow, and we'll place it then."

He handed Harry the paper, which had the two photos listed, along with what size the pictures should be.

"Can do. Thanks."

"Thank _you_ ," Niall replied. He started to back out of the office.

"Hey Niall?" Harry asked. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"What's up?"

"Can you shut the door?"

Niall froze. "Shit, this sounds serious. You sure you don't want to talk to Liam or somebody?"

"No, I definitely need to talk to you."

Niall looked back out to the office to find Liam and Stan still sitting at the News computer. He shut the door and sat in the extra chair in the small office. 

"What's up? You all right?"

"Not sure, really," Harry answered honestly. 

Niall sat quietly, waiting for Harry to tell him what's wrong. 

"Have you ever been in a long-distance relationship?"

Niall shook his head. "No. Well, technically, the first time I dated Josh, we were long-distance when we were dating over holiday break. So, if you want to count that? But besides that, no."

Harry looked down at the floor. "If I ask you something, will you keep it between us?"

"Of course, if that's what you want."

"And will you promise not to judge me? Or look at me differently?"

"Harry, what the fuck is wrong? You're freaking me out a little bit."

"Um... What do you- Or, would you...? How do you define cheating?"

Harry looked up to see Niall sitting up straight in his chair. "Harry..."

"Just, answer the question? What do you think is cheating and what isn't?"

Niall leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs. "I mean, it's different for everybody. But I guess, for me, cheating is once your emotions get involved. Like, you can think a guy's hot, and not act on it. That's not cheating. But if you think a guy's hot and you do act on it, then that is cheating. Hang on, let me try again, that was kind of an obvious example. Umm... Like I said, once emotions become a factor, then it's cheating. When you're with a guy who isn't your boyfriend and all you think about is what it's like to kiss him, or hold his hand. When you think about spending the night with him instead of your boyfriend. When you're more excited to talk to him, or you tell him things that you don't tell your boyfriend. Once you become attached to someone who isn't your significant other, then I feel like that's a level of cheating. You may not have hooked up with him or anything physical, but I think that is a kind of cheating."

Harry remained silent through Niall's entire explanation, letting everything sink in, because _fuck._ Harry had done all of those things. 

"Damn, Niall, when did you get so smart?"

The older boy laughed quietly. "Don't know, really."

Another moment of silence passed before Niall asked the obvious question. "Harry... Are you cheating on Aiden?"

Harry finally looked his friend in the eye. Scratching at the back of his neck, he slowly admitted, "I don't know."

\---

Louis did find himself knocking on Jake's (and Harry's) door. 

When Jake opened it, he was surprised to find Louis standing there, but happily let him in. 

They talked for a while, flicking through channels on the TV, looking for something to watch. Jake told Louis that he would be spending most of his winter break at home, and spending two weeks out in California to see his godparents. 

After a while, their talking turned into making out and their making out led to taking each other's clothes off, which then became something that the boys had gotten quite familiar with. 

Louis was on his back on the bed, and Jake was on his knees in between Louis' thighs. 

"More," he begged, feeling Jake push a third finger into him. 

Louis closed his eyes, feeling Jake's fingers thrusting in and out of him. He felt a shock go through him when Jake found his prostate, and then the younger boy started to focus on hitting that spot, over and over again. 

"Oh, god..." Louis moaned, as he started to rock back against Jake's fingers, meeting him thrust for thrust.

Jake leaned down to kiss Louis roughly, not waiting to force his way into the other boy's mouth, massaging the other boy's tongue with his own and eventually biting down on Louis' bottom lip. He sped up his fingers, and Louis picked up his pace as well. 

When Jake tried to pull back, Louis placed his hands on either side of Jake's face, pressing their foreheads together, holding him there.

"So fucking close," he forced out. 

"Yeah? You gonna come for me, Lou? Come from just my fingers?"

Louis nodded his head once, feeling himself about to burst.

"Go ahead. Come, Lou."

Louis pulled Jake down for another sloppy kiss, and let out a long groan as he felt himself coming all over his stomach.

The two kept kissing as Jake worked him through the orgasm, and their kisses became slower and deeper until Louis was sure he was finished. 

He tried not to flinch when Jake pulled his fingers out and wiped them on a towel. 

He was about to say, "OK, your turn," when he heard the door open. 

\---

Harry finally left the office at 10:30, and immediately put his headphones in as he made the walk back to his dorm. 

He really had a lot to think about. Based on what Niall said, it seemed like Harry was a cheater. He told Louis about how he knew he was gay. He hadn't told anyone else that, not even Aiden. Even before he'd actually met Louis, he'd always wondered what it would be like to kiss him or even just hold his hand. Back when Louis was just the editor who didn't pay attention during meetings and who goofed off with Ed until it was time for him to talk. 

Harry could remember always watching Louis when he would go to the office at 5:30 on Mondays last year. The Opinion Editor was just so confident with himself, making everybody laugh and not hesitating to help another editor or a writer when they needed it. 

And it didn't help that he was just so  _fucking gorgeous._ Those blue eyes, sharp cheekbones and light brown hair were just so stunning. On top of it all, he had an ass that should be illegal. It was just so round and firm that clearly came from all those years of playing soccer. Harry always wanted to grab it and just feel, and he knew he would never get the chance to. 

He didn't know what to do. Should he avoid Louis? Not likely that would happen. He was going to have to see him tomorrow at the office. Should he tell him what Niall said? No, that wouldn't do anything. It might even get Niall in trouble for suggesting such a thing. 

_All I want to do is take a shower and go to bed._

Harry had a long day, and decided to think more about Louis in the morning. 

He knew by now not to go to his room with his headphones in. He knew. If he had kept them off, he would have heard the loud moan coming from the room seconds before he walked in. 

He opened the door, and in the short amount of time he has to focus, all he saw was Louis, naked on Jake's bed, sweaty and covered in come, and Jake in between his legs, wiping his fingers off on a towel. 

"Holy shit!"

"Oh my god!"

The two of them fumbled to cover themselves up as Harry slammed the door behind him. He sped walked down the hallway and downstairs, not stopping until he reached the lounge. Thankfully, it was empty. 

Shaken up by what he just saw, he plopped himself down on a couch, shutting his eyes and rubbing at them with the heels of his hands.

How could he have been so stupid to wear his headphones up to the door? He knew by now that Louis and Jake could literally be in there at any time.

And what he saw will forever be burned into Harry's memory. He definitely didn't need to see Louis in a post-orgasm haze.

_Not unless I'm the one to blame for it._

Harry shook his head of that thought. It definitely wasn't helping right now. 

Harry wasn't sure what to do. All of his stuff was in his room, and his phone had a low battery. 

He was debating going to the diner when he heard the door to the lounge open.

Louis walked in, fully dressed. 

"Harry, oh my God, I'm so sorry about that."

"It's fine, Lou, whatever."

"No, it's not fine. I thought Jake locked the door. You never should've had to see that."

"Yeah well, we really need to stop making a habit of this. I'm tired of seeing your hookups, Lou," Harry said harshly.

"What- What do you mean a habit?"

"I mean, this is like, the millionth time I've walked in on you guys going at it or have heard you through the door or caught you as you were about to start. And I'm sick of it. It's not fair."

"Haz, I'm sorry," Louis said. "We'll be more careful."

"Yeah, that's what you said the last time. And the time before that. And the time before that. Here's a hint! Give me a heads up that you're over. One of you. It doesn't matter which one. Just let me know that you're hooking up so I don't come back. Because guess what? I don't want to see you guys fucking in there! I just don't!"

The boys were silent for a few minutes, neither of them really knowing what to say next.

"Do you not like me dating your roommate? I wish you would have told me that, Haz."

"Shut up. You already know that. Don't act like it's some new information for you."

Louis paused before speaking again. Licking his lips, he muttered, "Haz, do you still-"

"Like you? Of course I do! I always have, ever since last year. You never noticed me, Louis, but I noticed you. I noticed the way your eyes crinkled when you laughed. I noticed how you would lose yourself in your own thoughts during the meetings until it was time for you to go over your section, and how you always talked to Ed and kept all the attention of everyone in the room on you, even when it wasn't supposed to be. But I never had a reason to talk to you. The Opinion section never needed photos, so why would I?"

Louis ducked his head as he listened to Harry speak. 

"And then I took Ed's position, and I got to sit next to you every week. And at first, I was thrilled. I would actually have a reason to talk to you, all the time. But you put me through hell the first few times we worked together. I never knew what to expect from you. I didn't know if you'd be nice Louis, distant Louis, happy Louis, mean Louis. I thought it was me. I even apologized to you! And then we started hanging out, and becoming friends, or so I thought we were, until you pull this shit on me. Again. And I just... I thought I knew what our relationship was. I really did. And then you started being rude to Aiden, and it's like I don't even know you at all."

Louis' head shot up then. "You know what? Don't even bring _him_ into this."

"Him? You mean, my boyfriend?"

"Yeah, how's that going, by the way? Is he still unsure of whether or not he wants to be in a relationship with you? Or, do you still go days at a time without speaking to each other? Wasn't there a time that you didn't speak to him for more than a week? Pretty sure there was. Is he still using his parents' divorce as a reason to treat you like shit and just crap all over your feelings?"

"Shut up, Louis. You don't know anything about him."

"Oh, but I do. Because you tell me all about him. You tell me all of this, and how do you expect me to react? He's an asshole, Harry. He's not a good boyfriend. I'm not even sure he's a good person. And yet you stay with him, when you know you have other options."

"Other options? Like who, you?"

Louis froze, unable to answer.

"Oh wait, I forgot. You're not an option, right? Because you don't date coworkers, no matter how you feel," Harry spat.

"Fuck off, Harry."

"Hang on, are you seriously getting mad at me right now?" 

"Yeah, maybe I am."

"Well guess what, you don't get to be mad here!" Harry yelled angrily. 

"And you don't get to tell me what I'm supposed to feel!"

"You rejected me! Remember? _You_ turned _me_ down. So actually, yeah, I do get to tell you how to feel right now. You don't get to be mad at me because I found someone who is actually going to return my feelings. You didn't like me back, so I moved on."

"To someone who's not good enough for you? Oh good, I'm so happy for you!"

"You know what," Harry started, "I don't understand you. First I kiss you, and you tell me no. Then you apologize for it and ask to be friends. I introduce you to my boyfriend and you start hooking up with my roommate, of all people. Then, when Aiden and I are having problems,  _you_ are the one to convince me to talk to him and work it out!"

"Because it's what I thought you wanted to hear! Not because I actually like the guy!" 

Harry was taken aback by that. "What?"

"Yeah, I was trying to be a good friend. I really was. I thought that if you had Aiden, and if I had Jake, then all of those feelings would just... go away. But you know what? They didn't. When I found out that you were dating Aiden, my heart broke. That day at the office when you were telling everybody how you even got together, I realized that I was the one who drove you to him. I only had myself to blame for all of this! And then I actually met him, and he was  _so fucking nice,_ the bastard. And I couldn't do anything. You deserved to be happy. And Jake was there that night, too, and he was such a sweetheart, so I thought that he could get rid of my feelings for you. But he didn't. No one could. Then you told me that Aiden said he didn't know why he was dating you, and literally, all I wanted to do was drive up to your hometown and rip his throat out, because how dare someone say something like that to you?"

Louis sat down on the couch next to Harry, looking him straight in the face.

"Harry, you're kind, and you're smart, and even with all of your corny jokes, you still make me laugh every day. You take such wonderful pictures and do amazing photo spreads and you don't give yourself enough credit. You literally have a heart of gold and would do anything to help out anybody. You even wrote an article for my section for God's sake, and you didn't have to. You're amazing. And you deserve someone who will treat you like you are."

Harry didn't even realize he was tearing up until he started sniffling. He looked down at his hands before he asked his next question, ignoring the sniffling he also heard from Louis.

"So why can't we be together? For real?" Harry looked up at him through glistening eyes. "Why?"

Louis sighed, getting up from his seat and turning away. "Harry..."

"Why?" Harry roared, rising from his seat, as well. "Give me one reason, after everything we've just said."

The tears were just falling from his eyes freely at this point.

"Because we-"

"Don't you dare say it's because we work together or whatever bullshit you're about to say, because your three best friends are all dating people they work with. People that we work with, too."

"They're different, Harry. _We're_ different."

"How? Niall is dating Josh, who he works with at the same desk for the same exact section. Liam is with Dani, the girl who sits right next to him every single week, correcting the same pages. Zayn is dating Perrie, who is sort of his boss. He takes photos for her, and nobody thinks anything of it. Then you have us, who only sit next to each other in meetings. We almost never interact professionally in the office, since you rarely need pictures. If anything, it should be easiest for us to be together. So why can't we?"

"Because it's different, Harry!"

"How is it so different?" Harry asked. "How?"

Louis ran his fingers through his hair and wiped a few tears from his face before continuing. "You're only a sophomore, Harry."

Harry furrowed his brow. "What does my age have to do with anything?"

"You're a sophomore," Louis continued. "So you have two more years of freedom, and time to be on your own. And you're going to meet so many more new people. And if we did start something, we'll be separated soon, and you'll find somebody else. Somebody here. You're tired of long distance relationships already, and anything with me would continue to be long distance. Only, you'll still be in school, and I'll be at home, with a real job and real responsibilities. It won't work."

Harry stared at the boy in front of him, shaking his head.

"No. You don't know that."

"Really? I don't? Look at you and Aiden! It kills me to see how he makes you feel all the time. I could never do that to you."

"But you're not Aiden!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry, be reasonable. You haven't even known me a full year. You've known him since when? High school? Middle school, even? How could you make a relationship work with me and not with him?"

"Because you're worth it," Harry answered simply. 

Louis pursed his lips in response. "Yeah, well... you're not the first person to ever say that to me, so forgive me for not believing you." 

_And there it is._

Harry watched the older boy, hoping for an explanation. 

Louis bit his lower lip, taking a deep breath. 

"Louis?" Harry asked. 

Louis looked down at his feet before responding. "His name was Justin," he started slowly. "We worked together for a year. It was my sophomore year, and he was a senior. I had such a crush on him, and toward the end of the year, he told me he liked me, too. So we went on a few dates, and eventually, we had sex. He was my first. I had dated other boys before, and done everything else with them, but I never felt ready enough to go all the way with anybody until him. It was amazing, and I thought that it would be able to last the distance after he graduated in May. It went strong for a few weeks, but by the end of June, it was over. We just, stopped talking, stopped trying. He lived about an hour away from me, and it could have worked. It  _should have_ worked. But it didn't. And I don't want that for us."

Harry stared at Louis, feeling the old tears drying on his face only to have a few fresh ones start to fall.

"Which editor was he?" Harry asked.

Louis looked back on him with a sad smirk on his face. "Ed took over that position the next year. Justin was the Photo Editor."

Harry felt himself exhale the breath that he didn't realize he was holding in. He sat back on the couch, leaning back against the cushions.

"I can't date a coworker," Louis explained, tears starting to streak down his cheeks. "Not again."

"So what happens now?" Harry wondered. "Where does that leave us?"

After a moment, all Louis could whisper was, "I don't know."

\---

When Louis got back to his apartment, he didn't make it far before he heard Zayn calling to him.

"Louis! I'm so sorry! I never meant to-"

Louis looked up at Zayn to see his roommate staring strangely at him. Over his shoulder, Louis sees Niall and Liam standing up, watching the two boys interact.

"Lou? What's wrong? What happened?"

That's all it took. Louis felt the dam inside him burst, and suddenly he was falling to his knees, crying his eyes out. 

"Louis!"

"Lou, what happened?"

"What the fuck?"

Louis could hear his roommates trying to talk to him and find out what could have ever happened to make Louis so upset, because Louis never cries. Ever.

All he could say through his tears and labored breathing was, "I messed everything up."

\---

The next day at the office, Louis and Harry didn't speak. Louis got his pages done quickly and left the office just after 8 p.m. 

Harry didn't move from his office, sitting at his desk the whole night, even when his photos were done and he had nothing else to do. As much as he wanted to go sit in another chair by a certain editor's desk, he just couldn't bring himself to try.

\---

Finals came and went, and soon, everyone got to go home for five weeks.

Harry spent time with his family, and a few days with Aiden. They made it to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree, like they planned. 

Louis spent time with his family, as well, thankful for the pleasant distraction they all provided. 

On his birthday, December 24, Louis got messages from everyone, wishing him well. The one that he read over and over again was the simplest one of all.

 _ **Harry: Happy Birthday, Louis.** _

He didn't text back.

A few days later, he hung out with Liam and Zayn. As much as they tried, they still couldn't get Louis to tell them what exactly it was that caused his breakdown. But Zayn had a slight idea what it could have been.

On January 1, Harry texted Louis again. 

 _**I still want to show you New York.** _

He wasn't surprised when he didn't get an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me. Don't hate me. Don't hate me.  
> I'm sorry! Believe me.  
> Tell me what you think of how this chapter wound up! I think I rewrote the Larry argument about seven times.  
> The next chapter will be posted on Sunday!


	20. The Parent Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's winter break! And the boys are taking a little trip!  
> This is a chapter that I've been thinking about since I started writing this story, so I hope you enjoy it.

"So what are we going to do about them?"

It's January 2. Liam posed this question as he sat in his room with Zayn. The two of them were Skyping with Niall, who seemed as confused about what to do about the Louis/Harry situation as they did.

"It was bad, Niall," Zayn said. "We were hanging out with Louis a couple days ago, and whenever Harry's name was brought up, Louis cringed a little bit."

"And Zayn, you didn't even see them that last day in the office," Liam continued. "Harry didn't move from his desk once, and Louis looked so jittery. All he did was look at the chair next to his desk. You would've thought that one of them had died with the way they were acting."

"I knew something was up," Niall stated. "The two of them are always together when we're working."

"OK listen, this is what I know," Zayn started. "I think this has something to do with it. Louis had a crush on Harry last year. And I guess Harry liked Louis, too, because they kissed over the summer. I guess at that meeting you guys had? Anyway, Louis told Harry it wasn't gonna happen because they're coworkers. Harry started dating Aiden, Louis started getting with Jake. And neither one of them got over the other."

"I knew they liked each other," Niall said. "If I can pick up on it, clearly it's pretty obvious."

"But why now?" Liam asked. "Why are they so nervous around each other all of a sudden?"

"Well, I sort of had an argument with Louis that night when he came back from the office, because when I walked in to drop off those basketball photos, I found them holding hands," Zayn admitted. "Liam, remember when you asked me why I wouldn't stop pacing? That's why. I asked him what he was doing and he admitted that he liked Harry, but wouldn't do anything about it. And he stormed off. Said he was gonna go see Jake."

"Wait, what time did you have this argument?" Niall questioned.

"I don't know. It was right after he left the office." Zayn answered.

"And what time did Louis come back to the apartment? Like 11 something?"

"Yeah, about that, I think. Why?"

"Shit. Harry left the office at like, 10:30 to go back to his dorm. You don't think he walked in on them, do you?"

"And they fought about it or something?"

"And that's why they were so uncomfortable around each other?"

"Fuck!" Liam groaned, running his hands over his hair. "That is totally what happened."

"Well, once again, what are we going to do?"

The boys fell silent as they tried to plan something to help their friends.

"They're coworkers! It all makes sense now," Liam suddenly exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"What makes sense?" Zayn asked.

"Well Zayn, you didn't go here yet, and Niall, you literally just started working at the paper, so you wouldn't know," Liam started to explain. "I can't believe I forgot about this. But when we were sophomores, Louis really liked the old Photo Editor, Justin. And they went out on a few dates. I don't remember if they were ever official, though. But it ended badly. I'm pretty sure that Justin was Louis' first? Anyway, when Justin graduated that year, they promised to stay together and work through the distance that was between them. But they stopped talking, and Louis was so upset. Honestly, Niall, it was a lot like the whole situation with you and Josh, the first time."

Liam watched as Niall winced and heard Zayn sigh next to him. 

"So, you guys can understand why Louis wouldn't want to date Harry? He wants to avoid a heartbreak. Not only has he had to watch his best friend go through it, but he experienced it himself."

"Well, if we're all admitting stuff about Harry and Louis..." Niall started. "I have something to add, I guess?"

"What is it?" Zayn asked.

Niall told the other boys about his cheating conversation with Harry. 

"So I guess Harry was also getting angry at himself because maybe I put it into his head that he was cheating on his boyfriend? If they did argue, that wouldn't have helped anything."

"Oh my god, this is such a mess..." Liam sighed. "How can we fix this?"

"Well, we need to get them together somehow. Have them work out their issues. I don't want to see our friend group dissolve because of this," Zayn answered.

"But where? I don't want to wait until we're back from break. That's way too long. It should be soon," Niall said.

"We could go to campus. Or at least, the surrounding area," Liam suggested. 

"Easy for you to say, you're only a twenty minute drive away from there, not two hours," Niall whined.

"Well where else is there?"

"I have an idea," Zayn suddenly cut in. "When I walked in on them that night at the office, Louis was saying that Harry would have to take him to New York City, and Harry said that he would over break. You know, when they were still happy with each other."

"Zayn, that's brilliant! There are plenty of things to do in the city, lots of distractions and ways to get them to talk. Let's do it," Niall complimented.

"Zayn, that's a terrible idea," Liam said. "We don't know the first thing about New York City. Where to go, how to get there..." 

"Hello!" Niall yelled. "I live in New York. I'll get you guys here, no problem. What day works good for you guys? It should be during the week, though, it'll be easier."

"It should be right away," Liam said. "How about Tuesday?"

"What day is that, the seventh?" Zayn wondered.

"I think so, yeah," Niall answered. "That's good for me. I'll text Harry and ask if that's a good day for him. You guys ask Louis."

"Wait, should we tell them that we're all going?" Liam asked. "I don't think either one of them will go if they know the other is going."

"Agreed. Let's  _Parent Trap_ them," Zayn replied. "Don't tell them the other one is going, we're just doing this in small groups."

The boys silently asked Louis and Harry if Tuesday worked for them.

"All right, Louis is in," Zayn said. "But he said we'll have to plan the trip up there, since he has no clue how to."

"Harry can go, too," Niall stated. "He said to let him know what train I'm taking in, and he'll meet me there. OK, I'll look up train times and get that under control. Guys, start thinking of places you want to go."

"Sounds good," Liam said. "This better work."

The boys all nodded and say their goodbyes. They had a lot of work to do.

\---

The plan was all set. 

Louis would drive up to Zayn's house first, and the two of them would drive to Liam's house. Liam would drive to the train station, which was just ten minutes away. They would catch the 10:04 train into New York and arrive at 11:33.

Unbeknownst to Louis, Niall would be arriving to NY Penn Station at 11:27, and Harry would get there at 11:40. 

Niall told everyone to meet him outside of the 7th Avenue entrance so they could walk to Times Square.

The blonde boy walked outside and breathed in the air. "Ahh... Air pollution. How I've missed you."

A few minutes later, he caught sight of Zayn, Liam and Louis walking out of the main entrance and onto the concrete.

He whistled to get their attention and called them over.

"Niall?" Louis asked in confusion. "I didn't know you were coming, too."

"Of course," he laughed. "You really think these two could actually get you here without a problem?"

"I should've known something was up. The two of them were suddenly so eager to visit New York City for some reason. Of course a New York resident would put them up to it."

The boys got caught up after not seeing each other for two weeks.

Niall looked over Louis' shoulder to see Harry coming out of the train station, his curls hidden under a beanie. Zayn looked back, as well, shoulders stiffening.

"Niall! There you are!" his deep voice ringing out. 

Louis heard the voice, as well, and dropped his eyes to the ground. He slowly made his way closer to Liam, who put an arm around his shoulders.

"Zayn? Liam? What are you-" he halted, noticing Louis standing there, too.

"Hey," he blurted out awkwardly.

Louis looked up at Harry and gave him a small smile before looking away again.

"Surprise!" Niall exclaimed. "Thought it would be fun to get us all together. And I know you three-" he gestured to Louis, Liam and Zayn, "-have never been here before, so why not come out with two guys who come here all the time?" He nudged Harry in the side with his elbow. 

The group fell into an awkward silence; Louis shot Liam and Zayn a death glare.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Let's try to have fun today?"

Clearly, that statement was meant more for Louis than for anyone else.

Liam cleared his throat. "Right. Niall, what's our first stop?"

"Uh, I figured we should do Times Square first, since that's on everyone's list of things to see. Then maybe visit M&M World and get some candy. And finish at the Empire State Building. In between that, we'll just walk around. You know, people watch? I just have to be back here by 10:15. That's when my train goes back to Yonkers. And it's the only one going back after 7, so I really have to make it."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go. Niall, lead the way."

Niall turned and started walking down the street, Harry at his side. 

Louis grabbed Liam's and Zayn's arms as the two other boys start to follow. "You planned this, didn't you?" he asked angrily.

"Yeah, we did, Lou," Zayn responded, yanking his arm out of his roommate's grasp. "We love you man, but you're being ridiculous. You can't avoid Harry forever."

He started walking after Harry and Niall.

Liam gently pulled his arm back to his side. "Come on. Let's go have fun."

\---

The boys started in Times Square, getting lunch at McDonald's (where Niall bought Louis a Happy Meal and serenaded him with "Don't Worry, Be Happy") before spending a few hours shopping in random stores.

They saw the Naked Cowboy and took a group picture with him. 

As they started to walk away, Louis felt a pinch.

"Excuse me!" he exclaimed, rubbing his ass. 

"Sorry, babe, just couldn't resist," the cowboy said. "You got a nice ass."

Louis blushed as his friends tried to stifle their laughs.

"I'll have you know, sir, that I'm a gentleman," Louis replied.

"A gentleman, huh? Well you should be treated as such."

He swung his guitar around so that it rested against his back and picked Louis up, bridal style.

Louis let out a yelp as his feet left the ground. 

"A little help, here?" he asked his friends.

He watched as all four of them just took out their phones and started snapping pictures.

"Seriously?"

He looked at the cowboy, who winked at him and started suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. And suddenly, the situation was just so ridiculous that Louis just started laughing. 

Once enough pictures had been taken, he felt his feet back on the ground and, with a smile, gave a hug to the older man. "Thanks, man. Appreciate it."

"Any time!" the cowboy serenaded, now strumming on his guitar.

After that, the tension between the boys had at least been partially dissolved. 

They took one more group photo in front of the billboard just under where the New Year's Eve ball had dropped a week ago.

"All right, M&M World?" Louis asked, rubbing his hands together. "I'm ready for some chocolate."

Harry smiled as memories of visiting the store with Aiden flooded his mind.

"You'll love it there, Lou," he said. 

The group made their way to the store and when they entered, all Louis could say is, "What...?"

All he saw were tons of brightly colored merchandise covered in the faces of the M&M's characters. Kids were running around, playing with M&M stuffed toys, and parents were browsing through different T-shirts and pajama sets.

"Are those M&M  _boxers_?" Louis asked, making his way toward a clothing rack. 

The boys split up, looking through the candy store, taking their time to look at everything.

Niall found Louis looking at magnets and pulled him up the escalator. 

"You'll love this part, Lou," he said as they rose to the second floor. 

A few steps later, Louis saw it: the wall of M&M dispensers. 

"You're kidding me, right? Why are there this many colors? They're _M &M's_."

"Don't complain, dude. Just appreciate. Come on, we're making our own bags of candy."

\---

One hour, three stories, eight pieces of M&M's apparel and five bags of candy later, the boys walked outside and followed Harry toward the Empire State Building. 

"All right, it's 4:00," Harry started. "We should get something to eat soon, since I'm not sure how long of a wait we'll have once we get there. Plus, we do have a bit of a walk ahead of us."

The boys walked about a million blocks (at least in Louis' mind) before getting dinner at Sbarro. 

Then they walked another million blocks (again, according to Louis) before reaching their destination.

"The Empire State Building!" Harry exclaimed. "I wish I could give you a history of the place or something, but I really don't know much about it, other than it's really tall and you can see a lot from the top."

"Are we going all the way up?" Zayn asked worriedly.

"Nah, just the main deck. That way we can go outside."

They entered the building and bought their tickets to be able to visit the 86th floor. When they got in line, all there was to do was wait.

They passed the time with small talk, and focused on returning to campus in a few weeks.

"Did you hear about that new stomach bug that's been going around?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, sounds nasty," Louis answered. "It lasts for like, three days or something like that?"

"Think it'll make it to campus?" Niall wondered.

"Don't know, but if it does, it'll be top news in the paper for a few weeks," Liam responded.

"I better not get sick," Zayn complained. "You know how I get when I'm sick."

"We know," Louis, Liam and Niall said in unison, all having been around him when he got the flu last year.

"Yeah, yeah," Zayn muttered.

After an hour, the boys were finally next in line to ride the elevator up to the main deck.

"I'm so excited." Louis said. "I've been looking forward to this all day, I think."

Harry couldn't help but smile at the older boy, who, right now, looked like he was about six years old.

"Christ, I didn't think the line would be this long," Niall complained. "Usually when I visit at night, most people are eating dinner, so it's not as bad."

"It's fine, Niall," Liam said. "The important thing is that we're going up in a few minutes."

"I'm nervous, though," Zayn stated. "Like, there are rails and stuff to keep us in, right? We're not going to fall off the edge or something?"

"Zayn, don't worry." Harry hid his grin at his friend. "There are rails and gates and the whole nine yards to keep people in. You couldn't fall over if you tried."

"Oh, OK." He still didn't look any less nervous, though.

As they boarded the elevator, Louis smiled even wider, unable to contain his excitement. 

Harry nudged Louis' shoulder with his own, grinning down at him.

Louis returned the smile and started bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

The elevator began moving up, and they all quickly felt their ears start to pop. After getting off the first elevator, they boarded a second elevator to reach the 86th floor. 

Once the car came to a stop, the doors opened to a large enclosed area, where the walls were essentially made of big windows and metal double doors.

"All right, so we just go through any of the doors to go outside," Niall guided. "Not sure how long we'll want to stay out there, though. It's gonna be cold."

"I don't care." Louis brushed off Niall's advice. He headed toward a set of double doors and walked through them, feeling the chill of the night. He looked around, seeing loads of people on the deck, taking pictures through the metal rails. He walked up to one and looked down.

"Holy shit," he muttered in amazement. 

Looking out, he couldn't help but be in awe of what he saw. From his spot, all he could see were lights and buildings. He was so high up that he couldn't see anything else. He literally felt like he was on top of the world.

He moved down along the gates, and soon saw a river that had a boat trudging down it. He could faintly hear the sounds of the city, the noise of cars beeping at each other hard to miss. 

Louis leaned against the rail and breathed in deeply. This is what he'd been looking forward to all day, and the view didn't disappoint. 

He felt the presence of someone next to him then. He glanced over to see Harry admiring the same view he was, smiling down at the city.

"It's gorgeous up here," Louis breathed out.

"Breathtaking," Harry added. "I love this view. It's easy to forget your problems when you're this high up. I mean, it's hard to imagine that this is real when you're up here. Like, there's really people down there, just living their lives and doing whatever, and you're just up here looking down on all of it, seeing everything at once."

Louis listened to Harry's words, silently agreeing with them. He felt himself letting go of all of his stress as he spoke, hoping to remember this feeling.

"Louis, I'm sorry," Harry said suddenly, turning toward the older boy.

"For what?" Louis whispered, not taking his gaze away from the city lights.

"For everything. For all of the things I said to you. For trying to pressure you into something when I didn't know the whole story. I shouldn't have."

"No, Harry, I'm sorry. I should have been honest with you from the start, and told you why I didn't want to date you. It's just... No one knows about Justin. Only Liam, really, and that's because he was my roommate. It was hard to hide anything from him. And now you, I guess."

"But, I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you for that."

"Harry, you had every right to be mad at me. I was being such a dick about the whole thing, and I really didn't give you any reason to trust my decision, other than it was what I wanted."

"Louis, listen," Harry started, "if I learned anything from this, it's that I don't want to lose you. Even if there's nothing romantic going on, I can't just not be your friend. You're one of the best guys I know, and even though we haven't known each other for that long, you're one of my closest friends."

The older boy was silent for a moment, letting everything sink in. He didn't know if it would be easy for them to go back to what they had, especially now that their true feelings were out in the open.

But it was worth it to try.

Harry was right. Louis considered him to be one of his best friends, too, and he didn't want this to ruin them.

"Louis? Say something," Harry pleaded.

Instead of answering, Louis swept the younger boy into a hug, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time. They started laughing after that and eventually broke apart.

"So, are we OK?" Harry asked. "I mean, can we go back to what we were before... everything?"

"Absolutely. I already told you, remember? You don't have a choice. With how much we're together, we basically have to be friends."

Harry smiled down at Louis in relief.

"We're good, Curly."

"Glad to hear it, Boo Bear."

Louis shook his head. "I really hate that nickname."

"I know. That's why I'll keep using it for you."

The cold started to get to them then, so Harry suggested heading back inside. The two moved along the railing, looking for their friends, who are nowhere to be found.

"Strange," Louis muttered, taking out his phone. "I'll call Liam and find out where they are." 

"Hey, what's today?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Tuesday," Louis replied.

"No, the date."

"Oh. Uh, the seventh. Why?"

Harry pulled out his cell phone and started typing away. 

Louis peeked over and saw that Harry was looking for directions to somewhere.

"What's wrong?"

"We'd have to take a cab," Harry muttered to himself under his breath. "What time does Niall have to be back at the station?" 

"10:15," Louis answered. "What's up?"

"It's just after eight. We can make it." Harry was back to muttering. 

With one more glance at his cell phone, Harry grabbed Louis' hand. "We have to go, come on."

The two ran back inside to find Liam and Zayn talking quietly. "Where's Niall?" 

Harry didn't miss the stare that the two boys give him, as he's holding Louis' hand. He ignored their smiles, as well.

"Bathroom. Why? You OK?"

"Yeah, just, we have to go. We have one more stop to make."

"Where are we going?" Liam asked curiously.

Harry saw Niall making his way toward them. "Let's go!" He pulled Louis along after him, expecting the other three to follow.

They got in line for the elevator down.

"Harry, where are we going?" Niall asked once they were outside of the building.

"You'll see," Harry smirked.

"Taxi!" he roared, stepping into the street as a taxi van rounded the corner. 

The boys piled into it and Harry rattled off an address.

"Oh..." Niall realized where they're going a moment later. "Nice."

"Glad you know where we're going," Louis sighed, looking out the window.

Just a few minutes later, the cab pulled over to the curb, and the boys paid their fare. Hopping out, Harry told his friends to follow him. 

They walked around the side of a building, and there it was - the biggest tree that Louis had ever seen.

"Wow," he admired, hearing Liam and Zayn say the same on either side of him.

The tree was huge, decked out in red, green and silver Christmas lights, with a large gold star on top. 

"The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center," Harry announced. "It's only lit up for a month, and this is the last day it's up. They take it down tonight."

He watched as his three friends continued to stare at the tree in amazement.

"Good idea, Harry," Niall complimented. "I forgot the tree was still up."

"Everybody should see the tree at least once in their life," Harry stated calmly.

"You know, Haz," Louis said, "I didn't think there was anything else I would see today that would leave me speechless. But, I didn't even know about this."

"Hmm... Who has the better big city now?" Harry asked, referencing their Philadelphia/New York debate.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Let's not bring that up now."

"Let's get a picture in front of the tree!" Liam exclaimed.

They asked a young woman standing near them to take the photo. When Louis stood next to Harry and wrapped his arm around his waist, the younger boy was sure he smiled wider than he had all day.

After the picture was taken, Zayn walked over to the small wall near the tree and looked over. "There's an ice skating rink here, too?"

The others joined him and looked down. 

"Yeah, and it's packed, too. I guess because it's the last night of the tree being up?" Harry said.

"Probably," Niall answered. "Well, guess we'll have to try again next year, huh?"

The five of them agreed to try to do this again next winter break, even though Louis, Liam and Zayn would, hopefully, have real jobs by then.

"Shit, it's already 9," Liam swore, looking at his phone. "We gotta head back to the station."

They turned and started walking, letting Niall and Harry lead the way. They made one last stop in Times Square, to see everything lit up in the darkness.

They took another group picture in front of the billboard before continuing on their way.

When they finally reached the station, they still had some time before Niall's train departed, so they stopped at Auntie Anne's for pretzels for the journey home. 

"All right, boys," Niall said as the rest of them dropped him off at his train track. "Keep in touch, see you in a few weeks. Glad we could all do this."

"Yeah, me, too," Harry agreed, smiling at Louis. 

Louis smiled back before looking at his blonde roommate. "Yes, Niall, you were the perfect tour guide. Loved every stop we made."

"Aww, stop!" Niall blushed. "You're too kind."

Just then, an announcement was made over the loud speaker that said his train was boarding.

"OK, group hug. Bring it in."

The five boys gathered into a hug before waving Niall off. Then they made their way back through the station so Harry could tell the other boys where to go.

"You're going to look for the signs that list that Trenton as the final destination. There's a 10:33 train leaving, so in a few minutes, the signs will change and tell you which track to look for. So wait here, and at 10:23, listen for an announcement and start looking for the Trenton sign. Got it?"

"I think we'll figure it out," Liam said.

"If you don't, there's also a 10:50 train. But hopefully you can get on the first one and get home sooner."

"Thanks, man," Zayn said, pulling the younger boy into a hug. "And thanks for coming out today, too."

"Definitely. I had fun. Glad you guys did, too," Harry replied, pulling Liam into a hug.

"We did," Liam said. "And thanks for that little bonus stop, too. The tree was amazing."

"Of course. I'm just glad we made it in time. They're probably getting ready to turn the lights off as we speak."

Harry turned to Louis then and was well aware of the fact that Liam and Zayn backed up a bit and turned away.

"I'm glad you don't hate me anymore," Harry admitted quietly.

Louis rolled his eyes. "I could never hate you. I'm pretty sure it's impossible for anyone to hate you."

Harry smiled at the compliment. "I guess so. But I'm glad we're OK."

"I don't think I would've stayed mad at you for long. We're still friends. We don't have a choice, remember?"

The boys paused, smiling at each other, before Harry said, "Come here."

The two of them hugged, holding on tightly for just a few seconds too long.

"I'll see you soon, then?" Louis asked as he pulled away.

"Yup. Just a few short weeks, then we're back to the grind."

"Sounds wonderful."

Harry turned and waved goodbye to Liam and Zayn before heading in the direction of his own train track.

"So, go on and say it." Zayn nudged Louis in the side.

"Say what?" Louis asked.

"We did good," Zayn answered as if it was obvious.

"You did OK," Louis sighed.

"You're so happy we  _Parent_ _Trap_ pedyou." Liam laughed.

"I'm not happy that you're calling it that, to be honest." Louis turned and walked down the steps toward the tracks.

"We did good! We did good!" his friends chanted as they followed him.

"Shut up." Louis smiled. 

His friends could be so embarrassing sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gonna say, I've never planned a trip to New York City in January, so if anything is wrong, then I'm sorry.  
> I've actually been to all of the places in the story, but I haven't been there in a while, so here are the main sites that I used to jog my memory a little bit. In case you're interested, and you're probably not.
> 
> Empire State Building: http://www.galttech.com/research/travel/empire-state-building-tickets-observation-deck-tour.php
> 
> Naked Cowboy (Yes, he's a real person, in case you didn't know): http://www.nakedcowboy.com/
> 
> Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center: http://gonyc.about.com/od/christmassights/p/rockcentertree.htm


	21. The Fifth Roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know! I suck. It took me way too long to update. I guess I got hit with a sort of writer's block? Like, I knew exactly what I wanted to happen in this chapter, but every time I tried to write it, I just couldn't. I don't know if that makes sense, but whatever. Here we go.

Winter break finished and classes resumed on January 27. That Saturday was February 1, Harry's 20th birthday. They all celebrated, of course, with, what else? A party with all of the editors. 

That Monday, however, was the day that everything started to change.

"Alright, guys, we all saw this coming," Liam announced, starting the meeting at 4:30.

Along the editors' table were at least seven bottles of hand sanitizer. Everyone had a news bulletin in front of them, declaring the known cases of the stomach flu that was currently making its way around campus.

"I talked to Dean Mayer this morning," he continued, "and he had a lot to say, as you can see from the paper in front of you. Basically, this stomach bug is brutal. It lasts about three days, and whoever catches it can't keep down any food, and will probably struggle to keep fluids down, as well. Anyone who catches it is urged to go home, so it doesn't spread. If you get it and can't go home, there are rooms in the freshman building set up for people who are sick, to keep them... For lack of a better word, quarantined, until they're healthy again."

Louis ran his fingers through his hair, silently hoping that no one on staff would catch the bug. It was only the first week of February, and he wanted to get through this semester easily. Now that it was second semester, he had to start giving thought to who would replace him as Opinion Editor in the fall. He had it narrowed down to two people, but the next few weeks would really cement his decision.

"For people who live in apartments," Liam looked up to make eye contact with Louis and Niall, "use lots of Lysol and other sanitizers all throughout the rooms and make sure to clean all cooking utensils extra thoroughly. Spray door handles nightly and wash bed sheets more frequently."

"Basically, go into Liam Payne obsession mode," Louis joked.

Liam threw his roommate a fake laugh before continuing. 

"For people in dorms, it says to take the same precautions, and especially to be careful about sharing anything with floormates. Use hand sanitizer at any opportunity and wash hands twice as often. Also, for everyone who has a roommate, find a Plan B for housing if your roommate becomes sick. Ask friends in apartments to room with them for the time being, and if you can go home and commute to campus, please do."

Liam dropped his head in his hands and let out a groan.

Dani reached over and lightly rubbed his back before continuing. 

"Guys, this is a lot of common sense," she started. "Just be careful of what you're doing. Avoid anyone who is sick and keep everything you come in contact with as clean as possible. I think we can all do that, right?"

She watched as her co-editors and advisers nodded in agreement. 

"Good. Now before I forget, the health center was giving these away," she ducked under the table and pulled out a large canvas bag, taking out a travel size bottle of hand sanitizer. "There's enough for everyone to take two, so take them and keep them on you at all times."

She took two bottles out and passed the bag to Perrie, who sat to her right.

They began to review the stories for that week after that, and of course, the top story in News was all about the stomach flu.

As Stan and Leigh-Anne talked about the signs and symptoms of the stomach bug as well as what anybody who caught it would experience, all Louis could think to himself was,  _This is going to be a long week._  

\---

On Wednesday night, Louis plopped himself down on the couch next to Niall. He had just gotten out of the shower after one of the longest nights in the office in a long time. As much as he tried, he just struggled with coming up with headlines for his articles. And one of the stories came in 100 words too short, so he had to wait for the writer to send him an updated version of it. Of course, it took until 8:30 to get it. Then he had to re-edit everything and place the article on the page to make sure it fit in the space.

It was so annoying, but thankfully, Louis could just relax for a little while with Niall and Zayn, who just walked in from the kitchen.

He heard his phone going off from his room and jumped up to get it.

Seeing that Harry was calling him, he immediately answered.

"Hey, Haz, what's up?" he asked, walking back to the living room. 

Zayn lowered the volume on the TV so Louis could hear better.

"Can I ask a favor?" Harry asked tiredly.

"Of course. You OK?"

"No. Can I stay with you guys for a few days? Jake caught the bug."

"Oh fuck," Louis blurted out.

 _Well there goes my sex life this week,_ he thought to himself.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I was talking to him just now and all of a sudden, he just jumped off his bed and starting puking in his trash can. When he was done, he looked at me, and I looked at him, and I just started packing a bag. I'm walking over now, by the way."

Louis laughed. "And what if I said no?"

"Well I guess my job really would become my life, then? I'll sleep under my desk for a couple days."

"You're not going to sleep in the office. We get enough of that place as it is," Louis scoffed. "Of course you can stay here. Door's unlocked, so just walk in when you get here."

"Thanks, Lou, I really appreciate it."

"Any time. See you soon."

Louis hung up and looked up at his roommates. "Jake caught the stomach bug, so Harry's staying here for a couple days."

Zayn and Niall exchange a look.

"What?" Louis sighed.

"You sure that's a good idea, man?" Zayn questioned. "I mean, all things considering..."

"It'll be fine. We're good now, Harry and I. Promise."

"Alright, as long as you're OK with it." Niall warned.

"Of course I am. I'm not gonna let him stay in the dorms, and most likely catch the bug, too," Louis reasoned. 

A few minutes later, Liam came strolling in, holding a black book bag. 

"Look who I found in the lobby," he announced, as Harry walked in after him, carrying an overnight bag.

"Hey, guys," he called out.

"Harry!" he was greeted enthusiastically.

"Did Louis tell you I asked to stay here for now?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, man, it's cool," Zayn answered. "You know you're always welcome here."

He thanked them and dropped his bag next to the couch, careful to avoid looking at Louis for too long, as he was shirtless, wearing only a pair of plaid pajama pants.

"You can take the couch or the futon, doesn't really matter," Liam said, putting Harry's book bag next to his duffle. "I need a beer, anyone else want one?" All four of the other boys raise their hands. "Was it me, or was tonight just a really long night?"

Liam moved into the kitchen to grab the drinks.

"No, it's not just you, Liam. Tonight was shit," Niall said, taking the remote from Zayn and flicking through channels. "Our photographer took the worst pictures of all time; stupid freshman. We have to run a photo of one of the basketball players making the biggest derp face you've ever seen. Zayn, you asshole, you should've been taking those pictures."

Zayn threw a pillow at Niall. "I already had plans with Perrie on Sunday. I couldn't go to the game, I already told you that."

"Hey, how's that going, by the way?" Liam asked, walking back in with five bottles in his hands and passing them out.

"Good, really good, yeah," Zayn answered, taking a sip.

"You gonna put the 'G' word on her yet?" Louis questioned.

Zayn shrugged. "You never know."

"That's a yes," Harry nudged Louis' shoulder with his arm as he sat on the arm of the couch next to the older boy, like always.

"Well what about you, Liam?" Zayn asked, looking up at his friend, hoping to get the attention off him. "You and Dani set to make things official?"

Liam blushed. "We're taking things slow."

"Mm-hmm, sure you are," Louis winked, drinking his beer.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Niall sighed. "You all know the way to get your guy, or girl, for you two mofos," he nodded at Liam and Zayn, "is to just be up front. Say what you want. You want to date them for real? Tell them. You know they'll say yes. That's what I did with Josh, and we've never been better."

The boys became silent at that one, all taking a long drink of their beer. No one else knew how to respond to that one, because, honestly, it had been a long time since Niall had been the smartest one in the room about making a relationship work.

\---

Louis woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. He checked the time to see that it was 7:30. 

_Who the fuck is awake right now?_

Usually the apartment stayed quiet until at least 8:30, as none of the boys had class until 10.

Curious, and listening to the sound of his growling stomach, he rolled out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen.

"Harry?" he grunted. "What are you doing here?"

Harry turned from the stove. "I'm staying here? Remember?"

"Why?"

"Do you lose your memory when you first wake up or something? Jake caught the stomach bug? I don't want to catch it, so I'm here for a couple days."

Suddenly, this all sounded familiar to the older boy. "Oh, right. Sorry. Usually I'm not awake this early. Ever."

"It's cool," Harry said, returning to the bacon. "I didn't know what time everybody else woke up, but I have class at 9, so I figured I'd make something for you guys. Just in case."

"You're something else," Louis admired. "Thank you. You really didn't have to. But we usually sleep in on Thursdays, at least til 8:30 or 9."

Harry shrugged. "Well, whatever. We can eat, then."

Louis leaned against the counter, watching as Harry cooked the bacon and poured more pancake batter into another pan. He wished he could multitask like that. At anything.

"Oh, so I was wondering," Harry started to ask. "Are all four of you going to be around tomorrow night?"

Louis pondered the question. "Yeah, should be. What's up?"

"I was going to cook dinner for you guys. As a thanks, you know."

"Harry, you've already done more cooking in this kitchen than I have. You don't need to do any more."

Harry smiled at his friend. "I know. But I want to. I'll be around for another couple days, taking up the living room and eating your food. It's the least I can do."

"Alright, fine. But whatever you're planning on making, double the recipe, so Niall can eat enough."

\---

That night, when Louis was sitting at his desk, Harry beside him, as usual. They were playing Dots and Boxes, and of course, Louis lost. 

He kicked Harry in frustration. 

"Why do you always do that?" Harry asked, rubbing his shin. "Just do a different strategy to play the game."

"I do! But you always figure it out before I can get a long line of boxes going."

"Sorry, guess I'm just better at this than you."

"Shut it, Styles," Louis warned.

"Make me."

_Oh how I would love to._

"If you guys are ready to get out of here," Liam interrupted, walking over to the desk with copies of Louis' pages in his hands, "Louis, your pages are done, just put in these last changes."

"Excellent! First one done. That's the way to go."

Liam rolled his eyes and walked over to Sports. 

"Guess you're headed out when you're done, then?" Harry asked, even though he already knew the answer. 

"Got that right," Louis responded happily. 

"You gonna go to bed soon? I  _did_  wake you up early today."

"Nah, got a paper due tomorrow. I'll finish that first. Probably have a beer."

"You're so lucky you get to leave at a regular time."

"Yeah, I know. What time do you usually leave?"

"On Thursdays? Like 10 or 10:30."

"That's disgusting," Louis groaned. 

"That's the job," Harry shrugged. "But it's ok. All my work for tomorrow is done, so I can just go back and chill."

"I guess."

"Yeah. Well let me go back and check on my photos." Harry stood up and stretched. "I'll see you at home."

Louis stopped what he was doing. 

Harry didn't seem to notice what he said as he walked into his office. 

"Yeah, see you at  _home_."

\---

"We don't need  _four pounds_ of roast beef!"

Louis and Harry were at the supermarket on Friday afternoon and Louis was giving the other boy a wild look at the order he'd just placed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Louis, let me do the ordering. Trust me. When I make this at home, I usually get 2 pounds for the four of us. You said to double the recipe, right? And if there's anything left, then just save it for lunch tomorrow."

He nodded at the clerk behind the deli counter. "Four pounds, please, thinly sliced."

Louis shook his head. "Whatever, Haz. This is your thing."

Harry smirked at that. "Yup, my thing."

"So what else are you making tonight?"

"Not sure. I was thinking broccoli and mashed potatoes?"

"Sounds good to me."

Harry nodded. "Alright, that's easy, then."

"Well this is something else I get to see you make. When are you going to teach me how to do something?"

"Tonight," Harry grinned.

"Come again?"

"You're gonna cook tonight; I'll just help. You can handle it."

"No, I can't! I'll give everybody food poisoning, or burn down the building. Haz, you can't make me do this."

"Relax. I'll be there with you. If anything happens, I'll take over. And nothing will happen. I'm a good teacher; I promise."

Louis sighed. Harry  _did say_ he would teach him to cook. But he didn't think it would be a whole dinner. He was expecting to start off easy, with like, a fruit salad or something.

"Thank you," Harry said, taking the meat from the woman behind the counter and putting the package in their basket. "OK, I think the vegetables are over here." 

Harry walked off toward the right side of the store, and Louis had no choice but to follow slowly.

A half hour later, the boys get out of Louis' car and walk into the apartment building, carrying grocery bags that contain the roast beef, as well as two large jars of gravy, a large bag of mini broccoli, a large box of instant mashed potatoes, a small container of butter and a fresh gallon of milk.

They unloaded the groceries in the kitchen before joining the other three in the living room.

"What's up?" Zayn mumbled while looking down at his phone.

"Louis is making dinner tonight!" Harry announced like a proud parent.

Zayn, Niall and Liam's heads shot up at that, all of them wearing similar expressions of fear and concern.

"What was that?" Liam asked worriedly.

"Thanks, guys, for the support," Louis said, "I feel ready to not make you guys sick."

"No, it's not that, Lou, just..." Niall started. "What are you making?"

"Roast beef, broccoli and mashed potatoes."

The other three boys nodded before looking at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked, looking between the three of them.

"You don't want to cook, Harry?" Zayn questioned.

"I promised Louis before that I would teach him to cook, so I am. I'm gonna walk him through each step. He'll do great." 

Harry smiled at Louis with confidence. 

Louis and Harry had some time before it was time to start cooking, so the group decided to watch  _Anchorman,_ a favorite among them. Just after Baxter got punted off the bridge, Harry nudged Louis and nodded his head toward the kitchen. 

Harry dug through the cabinets to find a large round pot that Louis had never seen before. 

"What's that?" he asked.

"A wok. You didn't know you had one?"

Louis shrugged, because of course he didn't know they had one. 

Harry shook his head and sighed, getting out two more pots - one large and one medium sized.

"Can you get out the roast beef and gravy?"

Louis nodded and did so. "Anything else?"

"Not yet, the roast beef will take the longest. The rest of it will take about five minutes to do."

"OK, what do I do first?"

"Well first, wash your hands." Harry smiled at the older boy as he set the wok on the stove.

"Right." Louis did so and then waited for further instruction. 

"OK," Harry turned the heat on under the wok. "Basically, you're just going take a few slices of the beef at a time and put them in the wok. Move them around and flip them over so that both sides can turn brown. You don't want to see any pink. Brown only."

"And then what?" Louis asked.

"That's it. When the meat is all brown, just move it to this plate-" Harry holds up a plate before putting it next to the stove top, "and add more to the wok. When it's all done, we're going to put all of it back in the wok and mix it with gravy."

"What's the catch?" 

"That's seriously it. I figured this would be easier to do than chicken or something else."

Louis pursed his lips. "So I just put it in the wok thing. Then I move it and flip it so it turns all brown. Put it on the plate. Continue browning all of the meat. Mix in the gravy when it's all done. You're sure that's all I do?"

"Yes, Louis!" Harry exclaimed with a laugh. "Easy, right?"

"You say that now. Wait til you're throwing it all up later because it wasn't made properly."

"You're ridiculous," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. "Let's go."

Louis unwrapped the roast beef and placed a few slices down to cook. He watched as the pink in the meat quickly turned to brown. Harry handed him a small spatula to flip the pieces, and he waited until they were thoroughly brown before moving them to the plate.

"How was that?" Louis wondered.

Harry inspected the three slices before smiling. "Perfect. Do it again."

Louis beamed and continued his work. He soon got the hang of it, falling into a steady rhythm while he and Harry made small conversation. 

While he was cooking, Liam, Niall and Zayn all made at least one stop into the kitchen to "get something." Louis knew they were just making sure the stove wasn't on fire again. 

When he was down to the last three slices, Harry put water in the other two pots he took out and put them on the burners, turning the heat on. 

"What do I do with those?"

"Wait for the water to boil, and then we'll work on the rest of dinner," Harry assured, taking the broccoli, milk, butter and mashed potatoes out. "Just finish the beef."

A minute later, Louis was done and asked Harry what to do next.

"Turn the heat off under the wok. Put all of the meat back in the wok, and then mix in the gravy, a little at a time." Harry placed a plastic mixing spoon on the counter next to the plate and got the rest of the ingredients for the dinner out of the fridge.

Louis nodded and began, as the water in the other two pots started to boil. He looked between the pots frantically, unsure of how he was supposed to manage this.

"I'll take over the gravy part," Harry said, sensing Louis' stress level. "Here." He handed him the container of salt out of the cabinet. 

"Pour some salt into the smaller pot, and then slowly pour the bag of broccoli into the larger pot." He waited patiently for Louis to do so before continuing. He walked him through the steps of making the mashed potatoes, mixing in the potato flakes, butter and milk and stirring. He also watched as Louis stirred the broccoli. Harry mixed the gravy in with the roast beef, moving the wok to a back burner when he was finished. 

By this point, the mashed potatoes and broccoli were done and Louis was happier than a kid on Christmas.

"Wait. Is this right? Did I do it right?"

"You did it perfectly, Boo Bear." Harry smiled. "You did so good with everything. I'm really impressed."

"Aww, Harry, stop, you're making me blush," Louis mocked, hiding his face.

Harry let out a loud laugh. "Time to eat!" he yelled toward the living room.

Almost instantly, Niall appeared, walking to the cabinet to grab a plate. "About time, I'm starving."

"How did you-?" Louis started to ask.

"I was pacing up and down the hallway. I haven't eaten since lunch."

"That's a lie," Liam interjected, walking in with Zayn. "He had a whole bag of popcorn before you guys got back from the store."

"Fine, I had a little snack. Let's go, where's the food?" 

A few minutes later, all five boys were sitting around the coffee table in the living room, looking for something else to watch. 

Louis was perched on the edge of his seat in one of the armchairs, waiting for one of them to start eating.

Niall was the first to take a bite. Big surprise.

His eyes widened as he chewed his food.

"What?" Louis wondered nervously. "Is it OK? Is it gross? Did I not cook it long enough?"

The other boys looked to the blonde boy for information.

"Damn, Lou, who knew you had it in you?" 

Louis' face lit up brighter than the sun. He couldn't contain his smile when Liam and Zayn agreed with Niall as they started to eat, too.

He looked across the table at Harry, mouthed "Thank you" to him.

Harry nodded his head once and gave Louis a wink in response. 

\---

Louis walked out of the bathroom in the middle of the night. 1:12 a.m. and he just had to wake up because his bladder didn't want to cooperate with him. As he returned to his room, he heard movement from the living room. 

_Guess Harry is still awake._

He moved into the other room to check on the curly-haired one to find him sitting up on the couch, staring at the ceiling. 

"Can't sleep?" Louis asked, plopping himself down next to him.

"Just thinking..." Harry answered. 

"About what?"

"A lot of things," Harry sighed. 

"Well thank you again for dinner. I can't believe I made everything right."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Louis. Really. You had no problem with that dinner. None. You probably didn't even really need me in there."

"Yes, I did," Louis said. "I would've been lost without you. I swear."

The boys fell silent for a minute before Harry asked, "What's today's date?"

"Uhh... well it's Saturday now, so the 8th?"

"Friday is Valentine's Day..." Harry mumbled.

"Oh, right." Louis would rather not think about what romantic thing Harry and Aiden probably had planned. "Is Aiden coming to visit?"

"Yeah, he'll be here," Harry answered, not really giving up any more information. 

"OK..."

They were quiet again for a moment. 

Just as Louis was about to say good-night and return to his room, he heard Harry whisper, "I'm gonna break up with him."

Louis froze. Harry spoke so quietly, he wasn’t sure he heard correctly. "What?"

"It's not working. You already know that. I know that. It's just, the relationship that I have with him isn't how it should be. It's too hard. It feels too forced, really. I'm tired of it."

Harry looked at Louis, giving him a small smile. "You were right."

 _Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't even think about doing it,_ Louis thought to himself. 

"Harry, I..."

He noticed Harry's eyes drop down to Louis' lips, and that was all it took. 

"Fuck this," he whispered, and surged forward, pressing his own lips to Harry's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember a couple chapters when I said that there was a scene that I wanted to include, but it didn't flow right with the rest of the chapter? Well the cooking scene was it. I liked it better when Louis/Harry were being like, super domestic. Hope you agree!  
> Anyway, Chapter 22 will be posted Thursday night. And it's gonna be a good one!


	22. Caught in the Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut. Fluff. Domestic Larry. Angst. All the makings of a great chapter, am I right?

Harry was dreaming. He knew he had to be. He opened his eyes and looked out at the room that he knew wasn't his. 

But as he looked down, he saw Louis sleeping soundly next to him, lips parted. 

Harry had fallen asleep on his back, clutching Louis to him, and Louis' head was on his chest, with one arm wrapped around Harry's middle. 

Harry pulled the older boy closer to him and kissed him softly on the top of his head. 

He knew this was a dream because this had been something he had been wanting since last year - to wake up next to Louis, holding him closely. 

But as he pinched his side, repeatedly, he started to realize that his dream was actually a reality. He thought back to last night, and didn't bother holding back the smile on his face. 

\---

Harry didn't mean to spring it on Louis that he wanted to break up with Aiden. It just kind of slipped out. But as soon as he felt Louis' lips on his, he was glad that he said it. 

"Wait, Lou," he whispered, pulling back gently, "I know that I want this, without a doubt, but are you sure?" 

Louis took a deep breath before responding. "You're all in for this, right? Like, you're not going to give up on us in a few months when I've graduated and we're living apart and this gets hard? Because it will, Harry. You know how tough this will get."

"I know it will, but I want to try it with you," Harry answered. "And I know you probably won't believe me when I say that, and maybe won't trust me, but I promise it's true."

Louis kissed Harry then, this time, rougher than the first. 

"I do trust you. And I really want this to work." 

Harry nodded, biting his lower lip. 

"Now, let's talk about this more in the morning, because I'm exhausted. And you probably are, too," Louis said, rising to his feet. 

"Ok. Sweet dreams," Harry wished. 

Louis looked down at him with a puzzled expression. 

"You can tell me that again when we're laying down. Come on." 

He grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him up, leading him to his room. 

The two boys crawled into the bed, shifting themselves around each other in the cramped space. 

"Good night, Harry," Louis said as he snuggled in next to him. 

Harry nuzzled his nose into the top of Louis' hair. 

"Sweet dreams, Boo Bear," Harry wished again. 

\---

Zayn rolled out of his bed after checking the time. 7:30 in the morning on Saturday. God-awful time to be doing anything. 

He wandered out of the bathroom after finishing up his business and started to walk back toward his room. Hopefully he could get a few more hours of sleep in. 

As he got closer, he heard another door open, and looked up to see Harry walking out of Louis' room in only his boxers. 

The two boys made eye contact and stopped where they stood. 

Zayn looked out into the living room, seeing the sheets and blanket that Harry had been using all week still in a pile at the end of the couch, unused. He looked back to Harry to find the younger boy staring with wide eyes, and a pleading expression. 

"You didn't sleep on the couch, did you?" Zayn asked. 

Harry shook his head no. 

"Liam!" Zayn shouted, turning toward his roommate's room. 

He didn't get any closer, because he felt himself falling to the ground with a thud after being knocked down. 

"Harry, get off me!" Zayn fought back helplessly, as the younger boy was now straddling him, covering his mouth with his hand. 

"What the hell?" Louis asked loudly as he emerged from his room. 

Liam came running out then, and froze when he saw the scene in front of him. 

"What exactly am I walking in on?" Liam wondered as he watched Zayn and Harry wrestling on the ground. 

"Tell him, Harry!" Zayn said as he pulled Harry's hand away from his mouth. "Tell him where you slept last night." 

Harry looked up at Liam, who was now looking into the living room. 

"You didn't sleep on the couch?"

Harry shook his head again. 

Liam looked at Louis, who was looking down at the floor, avoiding any and all eye contact. 

"Louis, you didn't," Liam said. 

"No, you perverts," Louis responded. "We didn't do anything. Just kissed a little bit."

"So... Does this mean you guys are like, together?"

Louis shuffled from one foot to the other. "I mean, we still have a few things to take care of... And figure out. But, for the most part, I guess?"

Louis looked down at Harry for confirmation, and he was met with a wide smile as an answer. 

"Well alright, then!" Zayn yelled. "About time, I must say."

Louis rolled his eyes. But at least his friends were happy for him. 

Niall finally walked out of his room to see what all the noise was about. 

"What's going on?" He stopped and looked at Harry, who was still on top of Zayn on the floor. "No, seriously, what am I looking at right now?"

"Relax, Niall," Liam soothed. "Harry and Louis are together now, and Harry was just trying to stop Zayn from telling us. Not sure why, but that's it."

"You guys are together now?" He looked between Louis and Harry. 

"Sort of, yeah," Louis answered. 

After a moment of silence, Niall nodded his head and said, "about fucking time."

He turned and walked back into his room.

Harry smiled at Niall's retreating figure and looked down at Zayn, who had stopped fighting Harry to get off of him. "You can get up any time you want to, man."

He shrugged, but rolled off of the other boy, letting Zayn get up and crack his back. 

"Anyway," Zayn started, "I'm going back to bed, because it's too fucking early to do anything else."

"Yeah, thanks for that wake up call, by the way," Liam playfully smacked Zayn's arm. "Just what I needed, really."

"I panicked! I didn't know what else to do."

The two boys laughed as they made their way back to their own rooms, leaving Harry and Louis alone. 

"I think I'll lay back down, too," Louis said, leaning toward his room. "You coming?"

"In a minute," Harry responded. "I actually did have a reason for getting out of bed," he nodded his head toward the bathroom.

"OK, well don't take too long." Louis smiled and went back to bed.

Harry went to the bathroom as quickly as he could before rushing back to the room.

He shut the door quietly behind him and faced Louis, who was lying on his side in the bed.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hey," Louis replied. 

Harry walked over and leaned in, kissing Louis softly on his lips. 

Louis brought one hand to the back of Harry's neck, pulling him in as closely as possible, and the younger boy licked into Louis' mouth almost immediately. 

When Harry grabbed onto Louis' hip, he gently squeezed and began massaging the skin there.

"Wait, Harry," Louis said, pulling away.

"Seriously?" Harry huffed. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, it's just, this is real, right? Because I've gotten to this point a lot of times before."

"What are you-?" Harry asked. 

Louis bit his lower lip, waiting for Harry to understand. 

Suddenly, he did. "Wait, are you saying you've had dreams about this?"

"Maybe."

A wide grin spread across Harry's face. "I see. Well," he cleared his throat, "what happens in these dreams of yours?"

_This could be fun._

Louis licked his lips before speaking again.

"Well first, you were in the bed with me," he pulled back the covers so Harry could get under them with him. 

He did so, and then asked what was next. 

"There was a little make out action going on, and you were on top of me."

"Like this?" Harry grabbed Louis' face in his hands and kissed him roughly, not even waiting to force his tongue inside the other boy's mouth. As their tongues battled against each other, Harry moved to straddle Louis, not breaking apart from him. 

Louis placed his hands on top of Harry's wrists, rubbing up and down his forearms. He let out a small moan when Harry bit down on his lower lip and pulled it back ever so slightly. 

Harry returned his own lips to Louis' and licked his way back into the older boy's mouth, moving one hand to run his fingers through Louis' hair and pulling lightly.

"Then what?" he asked, moving Louis' head back and kissing down his neck.

"That, just like that," he forced out breathlessly. He could feel himself getting hard and he knew Harry was, too.

"Just like this? This must've been a good dream," Harry murmured before sucking a light mark onto Louis' collarbone. He moved to kiss down the other side of Louis' neck, leaving another faint mark on the other collarbone. 

He reached down to feel Louis' hard-on through his boxers and moved back up to kiss him on the lips.

Louis could feel the younger boy's smirk as he kissed him.

"How am I doing?" Harry asked.

"Good, really good," Louis answered, breathing heavy.

"What else did I do?"

"You kept kissing down my chest until you got to the top of my boxers."

"I can do that." And he did, taking his time and making a full circle across Louis' chest and abs, until he returned to his lips. 

"I could kiss you all day, you know," Harry smiled as he kissed him again.

Louis sighed and he pulled away. "Can I see something?"

Harry nodded. 

Louis leaned up and started kissing up Harry's jaw until he got to just below his ear. He kissed there lightly, until he heard Harry's breathing start to pick up, so he started to suck a mark there. And he was anything but gentle about that.

"Fuck, Louis," Harry whispered, grinding down into the other boy. Louis only sucked harder until there's a purple bruise left behind on the skin. When Louis blew on the new mark, Harry started to fucking whimper. And that drove Louis nuts.

He thrusted his hips upward, eager for more friction between them, and Harry was only too happy to return the action.

After a few more rubs, Harry moved down to pull off Louis' boxers. Taking his cock in his hands, he gave Louis one more rough kiss before licking a thick stripe along the underside of Louis' length. 

"What happened next, babe?" Harry asked as he gave small licks to Louis' cock. 

"Um..." Louis started, but  _fuck_ if that didn’t feel good, "you went all the way down on me, and you did this kind of swirly thing with your tongue until I came. And you watched me the whole time."

"Got it."

Harry gave a few more licks to all of Louis' dick before lapping at the tip of it. 

"Harry..."

He watched as the younger boy smiled at him before wrapping his lips around the head and sinking down. And  _goddamn it,_ he did the swirly thing. He moved down a few inches before pulling off with a soft  _pop!_ noise. 

"You taste so good, babe," he growled before taking Louis in his mouth again.

Louis groaned as quietly as he could, well aware that if his roommates heard him, he would never live it down.

But it was so damn hard as he watched Harry bobbing up and down on his dick, wrapping his tongue around him as he moved. And those green eyes never left his own blue ones. That was the hottest part of it all. 

He could already feel that familiar warm sensation in his stomach, and knew he didn’t have much longer.

He tried to hide his disappointment when Harry pulled off again.

"Can I move away from this dream a little bit?"

All Louis can do is nod.

"Good," Harry smirked. He puts two fingers in Louis' mouth. "Suck," he instructed.

Louis complied eagerly, getting those fingers nice and slick.

After a minute, Harry pulled his fingers out and started massaging around Louis' rim. 

Louis leaned his head back, biting down on his fist to fight back the moan that wants to escape from his throat. He bit even harder when he feels Harry's mouth on his dick again, going all the way down.

He hit the back of Harry's throat, and as Harry's bobs picked up speed, so did his fingers. 

"Shit shit shit, Harry," Louis groaned. He accidentally bucked his hips up, but Harry didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he went even faster.

Louis could feel every inch of his body buzzing. The pressure on his hole as well as the warmth on his dick had him floating on air.

"Haz, I'm gonna-" he moaned, trying to catch his breath.

He opened his eyes again and looked down at Harry, who hollowed out his cheeks and sucked as hard as he could, continuing his movements.

When Harry winked, Louis lost it, shooting down Harry's throat.

The younger boy just took it and swallowed hungrily, taking in every last drop. 

Louis let his head fall back on the pillow again and tried to slow down his breathing. Suddenly exhausted, he couldn’t even open his eyes when Harry kissed him, letting Louis taste himself on his tongue.

He heard Harry getting himself off next to him and he felt guilty. 

"I'll return the favor, I promise," he whispered, "but _holy fuck_ you're amazing at that."

Harry laughed quietly. "Thanks. You're sort of wonderful, too."

"I didn't even do anything."

"You didn't have to."

\---

Louis woke up hours later, feeling better than he had in a long time. But the space in the bed next to him was empty and he heard voices from the other room.

He waited a few minutes and when he realized that he would have to get up eventually, he dragged himself out of the bed and made his way toward the noise.

He found Harry, Liam, Niall and Zayn all sitting in the living room, eating lunch. 

"Hey, sleepy head!" Liam exclaimed when he walked in. "About time you woke up. I mean, you even slept later than Niall."

"Yeah, sorry, I had an unexpected workout this morning," Louis said, winking at Harry. "Left me a little drained, I guess."

The reactions were a little mixed. 

Harry just grinned, Liam and Zayn said "Eww" in unison, and Niall smiled and said "Nice," raising his hand for a high five.

Louis returned the high five and smiled at the rest of the boys.

"I was gonna wake you up, soon, though," Harry stated. "We made lunch. It's just grilled cheese, but I can get you one if you want?"

"Or three, like Niall's had," Zayn cut in.

"No, it's fine, I'll get it. I'm not really hungry yet, anyway," Louis replied.

"You sure?" Harry asked.

"Positive. I already said, you've done enough cooking in this apartment. Sit and eat."

"Speaking of which," Liam started, "Harry, obviously, you can stay as long as you want. Especially if you're cooking, then by all means. But, when were you thinking of going back to your dorm?"

"Well, I talked to Jake yesterday, and he said he was back to normal. So he's taking the day today to sanitize everything. He's going to wash all the sheets and wipe everything down with Lysol and everything he can. So I'll probably go back tomorrow when everything's taken care of."

Louis shifted his weight from one foot to the other. 

_Tomorrow?_

He knew that Harry wasn't actually a roommate in the apartment, but it was really nice having him there. Even though there would still be four of them, it was going to be like someone was missing.

"Think I'm gonna get my sandwich now," Louis muttered, turning toward the kitchen.

"Hey, make me one, while you're at it!" Niall yelled after him.

\---

That night, the boys all played a few rounds of FIFA before calling it a night. 

And Louis got to return the favor for Harry when the younger boy was showering.

After his roommates had all gone to bed, Louis quietly entered the bathroom and sucked Harry off under the hot water, trying not to smile too much at how much moaning Harry had to stifle. 

"Can you put a load of towels in before you go tomorrow?" Louis asked as they lay in bed once they were out of the shower. "You used up all my extras this week."

"Sure thing," Harry replied. 

Louis thanked him, and reached up to play with a few of Harry's curls.

"So..." Harry started to say.

"Uh-oh, what?"

"It's nothing bad. It's just, Aiden's coming down this weekend. You know, for Valentine's Day."

Louis nodded, not taking his gaze away from Harry's hair. 

"I think I'm gonna break up with him then."

That broke Louis' stare. "What?"

"It's just, I want to do it face to face, not over the phone or something. And who knows when he'll be able to come down again? I don't want to wait until Spring Break. That's like, a month away."

"You can't break up with someone on Valentine's Day, Harry," Louis scolded. "That's just mean."

"But you'd rather sneak around like this for another month?"

"Well, no, but... I've been dumped on Valentine's Day before. And it sucks. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"So what do you want to do?"

Louis just shrugged, because truth was, he wasn't sure. This was such a tricky situation.

"What day is he coming?" he asked.

"Not sure yet. Probably Saturday, but I have to double check. Has Jake asked you to do anything yet?"

_Fuck. Jake._

Louis had forgotten about him, in all honesty. He had to find out a way to let Jake down easy without making it too awkward for Harry. The two boys still had to live together until May. 

"Well, he hasn't yet, but if he does, we'll make plans for Saturday."

"And then what?"

"I don't know, Harry! God, I hate this!"

"I know. I'm sorry," Harry apologized, wrapping his arms around Louis, holding him tightly. "I don't know what to do, either."

"Let's just play it by ear. If anything happens between you and Aiden, I won't be mad, and vice versa. And I'm gonna figure out a way to break things off with Jake."

"Just not this weekend?"

"Not this weekend."

"This is a terrible plan," Harry said.

"I know," Louis responded. "But it's a terrible situation."

\---

That week, Louis and Harry went back to the way they were, sort of. 

At the meeting on Monday, the boys sat next to each other as usual, but today, Louis had his hand on Harry's upper thigh, gripping it tightly and rubbing small circles into it. 

They thought they were being secretive about it, but judging from Liam's solid stare from the head of the table, Louis figured they weren't as subtle as they thought.

On Tuesday, some of the editors come over for FIFA night. After winning his second game of the night, Louis got up and walked into the empty kitchen to get another beer. When he closed the fridge, he turned and found Harry right behind him.

Without hesitation, Harry wrapped one arm around Louis' waist and braced himself against the fridge with the other. He crushed Louis' lips with his own, shoving his tongue down the older boy's throat. For a few minutes, they stayed in that position, Louis wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and standing on his tiptoes to balance them out. 

Harry pulled away first, leaving both boys breathing heavy.

With a glance down, he said, "good luck with that," and left the kitchen.

Louis could feel his semi through his shorts and slowly thought his usual thoughts to get rid of his problem before joining his friends.

On Wednesday, Louis and Harry excused themselves, separately, and went into the bathroom down the hall.

They took turns sucking each other off in the small room, and once again, had to stifle their moans from inside the cement walls.

Walking back into the office, separately, it was obvious that Niall and Liam knew exactly what they were doing, but fortunately, no one else seemed to have picked up on it.

On Thursday, Louis was once again the first one finished, but instead of leaving, he sat next to Harry's desk for once, playing with the younger boy's fingers while they waited for the other sections to be done.

Once the paper was sent to the printers, Harry and Louis walked back to Louis' apartment hand in hand, and Harry just stayed the night, since it was already past midnight by the time he got tired.

They went to Louis' room, where they relaxed in Louis' bed, making out and grinding against each other until they were both coming.

They soon fell asleep, smiling, with Harry cradling Louis against his chest.

On Friday afternoon, Louis found one of Harry's T-shirts in the dryer when he was taking his clothes out. He texted him to tell him that.

**_Harry: Bring it over. I have something for you anyway._ **

**_Louis: Ooh? A present? I'm intrigued._ **

Louis could just imagine the laugh that Harry probably let out at that.

 **_Harry: You should be. It's nothing special, just something I wanted to give you._ **

Before telling Harry that he'll absolutely come over, he just had to ask one question. 

 **_Louis: Where's Jake?_ **

He waited patiently for the answer, which came a few minutes later.

 **_Harry: He's about to leave for the lab. Shouldn't be back for a while._ **

Which meant they could have some privacy for a while. Niall had already gone over to Josh's apartment, but Zayn and Liam were still hanging around, helping each other get ready for their dates tonight. 

Louis didn't actually have any plans for tonight, but would have to see Jake tomorrow. They were supposed to go out for dinner and a movie.

 **_Louis: What are you doing tonight?_ **

**_Harry: Absolutely nothing! Have any thing in mind?_ **

Louis didn't, but that wouldn't stop him from inviting Harry out. 

**_Louis: Not really, but we can figure something out. I'll be by in 15?_ **

**_Harry: Perfect! =)_ **

Louis changed his outfit, putting on his best skinny jeans. He took out a dark blue long sleeve shirt that he knew would compliment his eyes and pulled on his black Vans. 

When he decided he couldn't do anything else with his hair, he grabbed his stuff and Harry's T-shirt and walked out, wishing Zayn and Liam luck tonight. At least one of them would be coming home with an official girlfriend; he just knew it.

He drove over to Harry's dorm, putting his hazard lights on when he parked, even though Public Safety was less strict than usual about cars parked outside of dorms on Fridays than they usually were.

He took the steps two at a time to get to Harry's room and knocked twice, coming in when Harry yelled for him to.

"Hey, babe," Harry greeted from his bed. 

Louis smiled at the curly-haired boy, taking in his casual outfit of black skinny jeans, a black tank top and a red, gray, and black plaid long sleeve shirt.

"How are you?" Louis asked, walking over to him.

Leaning against the bed, Louis leaned up and kissed Harry hard on the mouth, breathing in through his nose to take in his familiar scent.

"Good," Harry answered once they broke apart. 

"Here's your T-shirt," Louis handed over the faded band tee.

"Thank you. Let me get your surprise."

Louis moved over so Harry could jump down and walk over to his desk.

"It's not a big deal, seriously," Harry attempted to talk down the gift.

"Whatever, Haz," Louis responded, taking a framed picture from Harry.

He looked at what the picture is and gasped in surprise. It was a picture of  _him._ Only, Louis wasn't looking at the camera. He was looking out over New York City, and the skyline was behind him. Harry must have taken the picture when they were at the Empire State Building, because Louis recognized the familiar railings. 

In the photo, Louis was looking over the railing, down at the ground below, with a huge smile on his face. All around him were other people doing the same, and in the background was nothing but dark outlines of buildings and lights coming from the street below.

"This is so cool," Louis breathed out. "I didn't even get you anything. I feel bad."

"Nothing a good old blow job can't fix," Harry joked. 

"Perv." Louis swatted at Harry's arm. 

"You love it, though."

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you."

Louis wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and pulled him down to him.

He parted his lips so that Harry could deepen the kiss, which he did. He felt Harry pushing backward, so Louis stepped back until his lower back was pressed into the mattress. 

Things must have gotten pretty heated, because neither boy noticed when the door opened. 

They did hear, however, when someone cleared his throat.

The two boys pulled apart and made eye contact before looking at the now open door.

Standing there they found both Jake and Aiden, staring wide-eyed at the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! Another cliffhanger. I don't know why I keep doing that to you guys.  
> This was probably my favorite chapter to write, so I hope you enjoyed it, too!  
> Thanks for reading! Leave me some Kudos/Comments so I feel more motivated to write! Just saying.


	23. Cheater Cheater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you guys are kind of amazing. Thank you for getting me past 100 Kudos! It made me smile for such a long time, you have no idea. And I'm so happy that there was such a positive response to the last chapter. Hopefully I can continue to make this story a good read for you guys!

"Jake, I thought you were at the lab," Louis said weakly, staring at the gray-eyed boy.

"Nope," Jake replied harshly. "That was just a cover. Went down to get Aiden and help him carry his bags in."

He raised his one shoulder, where a red duffle bag hung.

"Aiden, I thought you were coming tomorrow." Harry said.

"Yeah, thought I would surprise you," Aiden spat back. "Guess I was the one who gets a surprise, huh? Man, I really should talk to you before I come to visit you at this damn school."

The four boys stayed where they stood, no one knowing what they were supposed to say next.

"Well, I guess there's no reason for me to stay, then," Aiden snapped. 

He took his bag from Jake and picked up the other bag that was lying at his feet. "Oh, by the way?" He opened his duffle and pulled out a white teddy bear and a small heart-shaped box of chocolate. He flung them into the room and closed the bag again.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Harry," he said before walking away.

"Aiden, wait!" Harry called out. He started to go after him, but turned back to Louis, not knowing what to do.

"Go, go," Louis urged. "Make things right."

Harry nodded and grabbed his coat as he ran out of the room.

Louis looked at Jake, who was staring him down from the doorway.

"Jake, I..."

"Save it," the younger boy grunted.

He walked into the room and shut the door behind him.

\---

"Aiden, stop!" Harry called out to his boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend? He grabbed him by the shoulder at the bottom of the stairwell and turned him around so they could face each other.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. 

"How long?" Aiden asked.

"Not long, like a week," Harry answered.

"Oh, so when you were living with Louis, then?" 

Harry paled. He'd never told Aiden that he was living in Louis' apartment last week when Jake was sick.

"How did you-?"

"Jake told me when he was walking me back from my car, because he said he just had to tell me something before we got up to the room. Well he just wanted to talk about how grateful he was for Louis to let you stay there so that he didn't get you sick. Turns out it bit us both in the ass because now the two of you are shacking up."

"We're not  _shacking up_ , Aiden."

"Really? Sure looked that way. God, I knew I couldn't trust that guy."

"Trust who? Louis?" Harry wondered.

"Yeah, Louis, your precious Louis. Ever since I met him, I didn't like him. He seemed way too protective of you. And you didn't help the matter. Whenever you talked about him, your face lit up with hearts in your eyes. Did you really think I didn't notice?"

Harry shuffled his feet. He really had tried to not be obvious about his crush on Louis. He did. Guess it just wasn't enough.

"And were you even going to tell me?" Aiden spat.

Harry looked down at his feet. 

"I-"

"You were going to tell me this weekend, weren't you?" Aiden asked. "God, that's low."

"No, actually, I wasn't." Harry stared back up at him. "Well, I was going to, since I wanted to do it face to face, but you know who told me not to? Louis. Said it was too mean to break up with you at Valentine's Day."

"Yeah, because this is way less cruel," Aiden sneered. "Go to my boyfriend's college to surprise him for Valentine's Day and walk in to find him cheating on me. Yeah, that's great, Harry. You know, if Jake hadn't wanted to talk to me before we went upstairs, I would've come in a few minutes earlier, and still not know about all this. I'd be completely in the dark."

"You weren't supposed to be here! Otherwise I never would have invited him over."

"Even better! You're blaming this on me!"

"I'm not blaming you for anything, I just-"

"Won't take responsibility for this," Aiden interrupted. "Face it, Harry, you're a cheating boyfriend. That's what you are. You can't make it look like I'm at fault for this."

"We're both at fault for this! We stopped trying. Even when I was at home for winter break, for _five weeks_ , we saw each other like, four times. And it's not like we had a whole lot to do, we just didn't care."

"I always cared."

"Didn't act like it," Harry stated.

"So I wasn't there for you? And what? Louis was? He just weaseled his way in there, right? All while he was fucking Jake on the side? Real classy taste you have there, Harry. Good job."

" _Don't_ talk about him like that," Harry growled. "You don't even know him."

"I know enough. I know that you guys deserve each other; you're both cheaters who don't care enough about the person you're with to consider their feelings for even a second. How do you think Jake feels about all this? And you have to face him later, because guess what? You live with him! Actually, I feel sorry for you. Because now you get to have an ex-boyfriend, a roommate who hates you and a guy you work with that will probably cheat on you, too. Sounds like quite the life you've made for yourself, Harry. Kudos."

Harry shook his head at Aiden. "Louis would never cheat on me."

"You sure about that? I mean, I never thought you would cheat on me, and here we are."

Harry sighed deeply, because how else could he respond to that?

"So I guess I'll see you around town then, when you come home for spring break? That's coming up soon, right?" Aiden asked.

Harry just nodded, unable to find his voice.

"Great, see you then."

Aiden grabbed his two bags and walked out the door, leaving Harry alone to process what he was supposed to do now.

\---

"What the fuck, Louis?" Jake wondered angrily. "I know we agreed we could see other people, but really? My fucking roommate?"

"I never meant to, honestly!" Louis promised.

"Your honesty doesn't really mean anything to me right now."

"It's true! You can ask him, I told him months ago that I didn't want to date him because we work together."

"Months ago? You and Harry liked each other months ago and neither one of you bothered to tell me that?"

"Uhh..." Louis started. "OK, this looks really bad."

"You're fucking right it looks really bad! What was I to you? Just a way to make him jealous?"

"No! Not at all! I really like you, Jake!"

"Just not more than Harry, I get it. Tell me this? Did you guys hook up all those months ago?"

"Um... Well-"

"You did!" Jake yelled. "What is wrong with you?"

"It wasn't like that, he just kissed me. That was as far as it went, I swear!"

"And then what? Harry started dating Aiden and you wanted to get over him by getting with me? Real nice."

"Jake, I'm sorry!"

"You're not sorry it happened, you're just sorry you got caught. I mean, did you even think about how you would tell me? Were you just going to let things fizzle out slowly, or were you going to break things off with an adult conversation? Based on what I walked in on a few minutes ago, my bet is on the first one."

"No, I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how!" Louis explained. "I didn't know how to tell you I was with Harry because you still have to see him every day."

"Oh  _now_ you remember that we live together. That thought never crossed your mind before, when we were making out or when I had my fingers up your ass."

Louis bit his lower lip. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go. "I'm sorry," he finally muttered.

"You keep saying that, and I still don't believe you. You're kind of a dick, you know that? And I don't even feel sorry for you, I actually feel really bad for Harry, because he doesn't realize it."

"Shut up."

"You don't know what you want, do you, Louis?" Jake mocked. "You don't know who you want to be with, whether it's me, Harry, or some other guy you could meet next week. And I pity Harry, because you're probably going to string him along for a few months like you did to me, and move on. But Harry's not as strong as I am, and when you end things with him, that's going to destroy him, and you'll only have yourself to blame for it. Hope you're happy with that."

"You're wrong," Louis said. "That's not who I am."

"You sure? Because that's how you look from where I'm standing."

Louis could feel his eyes starting to water. He blinked back his tears because no way in hell would Jake see him cry.

"If you don't mind, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Jake spat. "When you see Harry later, because, we all know you two will be together later, tell him I've gone home for the weekend? I don't really feel like seeing either one of you right now. I'm sure you understand."

Jake walked past Louis to his desk and started to get his books together, and Louis took that as a sign that the conversation is over.

He walked out of the room, grabbing his picture on the way out. 

He wasn’t even sure where Harry was, because he didn't see him in the hallway. Hopefully he wasn’t still arguing with Aiden.

As he entered the stairwell, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now. Should he call Harry? Should he give him the weekend to figure out if being in a relationship with Louis is even worth it anymore? 

He reached the landing and turned to descend the second half of the stairs. That's when he saw Harry, sitting down on the bottom step, with his head in his hands. It looked like he was alone.

Instead of saying anything, Louis just sat down on the step next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Harry leaned into the contact.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Louis stood up and said, "Come on. Let's go."

Reaching a hand down, he pulled Harry up and the two walk outside to Louis' car.

Still quiet, the boys drove back to the apartment and when they got there, Zayn and Liam were still in Liam's room, getting ready. Wordlessly, Louis and Harry walked into Louis' room and shut the door behind them.

They crawled into bed and cuddled together until they dozed off, neither one of them knowing how to break the silence. 

\---

Harry slept on and off for a few hours. He and Louis woke up around 8 that night and ordered a pizza. 

"Are you alright?" The two boys asked at the same time as they sat around the coffee table eating.

They made awkward eye contact when they realized that something about the situation was bothering both of them.

"Yeah, it's just... Some things that Aiden said to me," Harry answered.

He watched a look of anger flash across Louis' face. "What did he say?" he asked.

Harry didn't want to tell Louis what Aiden said, because he didn't want to make Louis any more upset than he clearly already was. 

"Harry? What did he say?"

"Um, he told me... That we're both cheaters, and we deserve each other and you're probably going to cheat on me, too," he rushed out.

He ducked his head, not wanting to see the look of pure hatred and rage that Louis was likely sporting.

"I'm going to kill him."

"What?" Harry shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Give me his address, I'm gonna go up there right now," Louis growled.

"Louis, stop talking like that."

"He can't say that kind of stuff to you, Harry. That's completely unfair. God, I hate this guy!"

Harry looked up slowly to find Louis on his feet, pacing back and forth.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized sadly.

Louis stopped in his place and looked at Harry, who he could tell was blinking back tears.

"Hey," Louis said softly, kneeling beside the younger boy. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

Harry shrugged. "I led Aiden on and I wasn't honest to him. I just-"

"Changed your mind," Louis finished. "You changed your mind about who you wanted to be with, and that's OK. Harry, we both knew what we were doing, and I didn't stop it, either. I knew what consequences there were and I wouldn't change anything about us. Honestly, I'm a little surprised you aren't mad at me."

"Why would I ever be mad at you?"

"Because I'm the reason you two were even together in the first place," Louis admitted. "I mean, if I hadn't turned you down over the summer, we could have been together since then. We wouldn't have wasted so much time, and involved Jake and Aiden and hurt them. Blame me for this, not you."

Harry pulled Louis into a hug then. "You put way too much of this on yourself, Lou."

They stayed like that for a minute before Louis slowly pulled away. 

"Listen, I would absolutely love it if you stayed here tonight, you know that. But Jake went home for the weekend, so... If you want to go back to your room and like, think things through or something, I'll understand."

"And leave you alone with this?" Harry asked. "No way. I'm not going anywhere right now."

Louis gave him a small smile. "OK." 

He pulled Harry back into another hug, trying not to dwell on the fact that Harry said he wasn't going anywhere  _right now._

\---

The next morning, Harry woke up frowning.

It was Saturday morning, and just one week ago, he was absolutely happy. Just one week ago, he woke up next to Louis after the two had seemingly gotten over whatever it was that was keeping them apart from each other. 

Just one week ago, Harry thought that he could actually be with the guy he's been pining over for more than a year.

And then it all went to hell. Despite Louis trying to make Harry feel better, all he had done was make it worse. 

Because now, Harry felt guiltier than he already did because Louis was being so sweet about the whole thing. 

That was probably the hardest for Harry to deal with. He had expected Aiden to hate him and knew Jake would probably give him the silent treatment for the rest of the year. But he never thought Louis would continue to look at him the way that he did - like Harry could do no wrong and that he was this amazing person.

Because he wasn't. He wasn't an amazing person. He was actually kind of a shitty person. What kind of guy just cheats on his boyfriend with a guy that is sort of in a relationship with another guy? And that other guy is his roommate, someone he's known for a year and a half?

He did plenty of wrong. He hurt people because he couldn't let go of his idea of an office romance. 

What if Aiden was right? What if Louis cheated on him, too, when he realized how far from perfect Harry really was?

Harry started to feel like he was suffocating. He had to get out of that room. It was starting to get to be too much for him.

As gently as he could, he unwrapped his arms from around Louis and eased himself out of the bed. He grabbed his shoes and everything else he brought with him and tiptoed out of the room, promising himself to text Louis to come up with a reason why he left.

\---

Louis wasn't sleeping when Harry left. He only pretended to be.

He felt the younger boy pull his arms from around him and heard him sneak out of the room, like he was ashamed that he had spent the night with Louis.

All night, he had tried to remain strong for Harry, so that he wouldn't beat himself up so much. Harry put all of the blame on himself, just like Louis thought he would. He had to figure out a way to make Harry realize that Louis really wasn't mad at him and didn't hold him responsible for everything that happened. 

But he couldn't do that if Harry was going to leave without even saying goodbye.

Then there was the fact that Louis never told Harry what Jake said about him. He just couldn't bring himself to do it, because he didn't want to put the idea in Harry's head that Louis could just move on from him so easily. 

If that were true, Louis would've been over Harry months ago. But Harry wouldn't see that and would make himself think that Louis would actually cheat on him or dump him in a heartbeat for someone else.

Louis didn't know what to do, but he didn't think he would start crying. The stress of the last 24 hours had finally gotten to him. And once the tears started, they didn't stop.

\---

Harry was in his dorm room, lying on his bed. He didn't know what to do with himself. He had no concentration to even attempt homework. He didn't have the guts to call Jake and apologize. He didn't know what to say to Louis. He had no reason to even try to say anything to Aiden.

So there he lay, staring.

He shifted in his bed, swinging his arm out to the side to try to get comfortable. With his movement, he knocked his cell phone off the bed and onto the floor.

He jumped down to pick it up, noticing the teddy bear next to it from where Aiden had thrown it yesterday. A foot away from it was the box of candy.

Harry picked up the bear and stared at the red heart sewn onto the front of it. Inside of the heart, in thin white lettering, read, "Be Mine."

A second later, Harry turned and hurled the bear toward his door. 

Dropping his head into his hands, he allowed himself to sob quietly for a moment before changing into a pair of running shorts and a long sleeve shirt.

He laced up his sneakers and dug his iPod out of his desk, placing it in a black armband that he secured tightly. Dropping his key into his pocket, Harry walked out of the room and down to the street. 

He stretched for a moment before taking off, the sounds of Jay-Z blasting in his ears. 

He pushed himself to go as fast as he could, waiting for that familiar burning feeling to take over his chest. 

As he ran, he could swear he could hear  _Cheater_ in the sounds of his footsteps.

_Cheater. Cheater. Cheater. Cheater._

He ran faster, ignoring how his muscles started to ache. He hadn't been running in a while, but kept going. He reached the lake and ran the usual course around it. As he got to the back of the lake, he saw Louis' building and looked down at the ground, pushing himself to keep going. He took the long way back, looping around the student center and the dining hall. 

He crossed the street back toward his dorm and took the route again.

As he made his way back toward the student center for the second time, he thought he heard someone calling him.

 _Not important,_ he thought to himself. He looked back at his feet and made himself keep running. That's when he crashed into something. Or, someone.

He fell backward and hit the ground. Lying on his back, he caught his breath before forcing himself into a sitting position.

"Harry, you OK?" Liam asked, looking down at him.

"Yeah," he breathed out. "Sorry."

He accepted the hand Liam was holding out to him and pulled himself up.

"Didn't see you," he apologized. 

"It's OK, nothing wakes me up quicker than falling to the ground with the wind knocked out of me," Liam joked. "You're sure you're OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Good, good. Um, I'm glad I ran into you, though."

"Actually, I ran into you," Harry smiled.

"Right, I guess you did. But, did you and Louis have a fight or something?"

Harry's smile fell from his face. "Uh... No. I mean,  _we_ didn't. No."

"OK," Liam sighed. "Do you know if something's bothering him?"

"No, why?"

"Well, yesterday before I left before my date with Dani, Louis walked out of the apartment. Didn't tell us where he was going, just wished me and Zayn luck. But I heard him come back like, twenty minutes later, and I thought he was with someone. I didn't actually see him, just heard him come in. And I thought you might've been the person with him?"

"Um, yeah. That was me."

"OK, well I don't know if you stayed the night or anything, but when I was getting ready to come here-" he gestured toward the rec center, "-I could've sworn I heard him crying."

"Louis was crying?" Harry interrupted.

"I mean, I think so. It wasn't that loud, so I could've just misheard it. I just didn't know if you knew what was wrong?"

Harry avoided the hopeful gaze in Liam's eyes. Because Harry knew why Louis was crying. It was because of him. Because he left without an explanation. But how was Harry supposed to explain that he left because he was afraid of the moment when Louis would realize that Harry wasn't good enough for him?

"Um, yeah I'll talk to him," Harry offered instead.

"That would be great." Liam sounded relieved.

Harry just nodded.

"Well, I didn't mean to hold you up, so I'll just see you later, I guess?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll see you later."

Harry put his headphones back in and started running toward the lake so he could do his route for the third time.

Great. So he had made Louis cry. Add that to the list of things that Harry hated about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to say, the angst doesn't end here. I got one more thing that's going to happen in this story.


	24. You're Not Worth It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of Elounor in this chapter. Relax, not as a romance, just as a cute little friendship.  
> Also, angst continues.

Harry and Louis were avoiding each other. That much was clear.

After Harry ran into Liam on Saturday, he never talked to Louis, like he said he would. The two boys went the whole weekend without talking once, but for different reasons.

Louis didn't want to speak to Harry because the younger boy told him he wasn't going anywhere, and then snuck out the morning after. Then he made him cry, which makes the second time the older boy had cried because of Harry in the past two months. And Louis never cries.

Harry couldn't talk to Louis because he didn't know what to say. He knew he needed to apologize for leaving that morning, but what would his reason be? 

_Oh, I started to feel like I was drowning at the thought of being in a relationship with you because we just screwed over the people we were just dating?_

Yeah, that would go over real well.

So, the boys didn't speak. To anybody. 

On Monday, at the meeting, they both sat quietly, only talking when asked a direct question. Liam and Niall stared the both of them down, but got no response about the sudden change of how the boys interacted with each other.

At Louis' request, FIFA night was cancelled that week, because he had "too much homework" to do. Really, he just didn't want to be around anybody, and didn't want to make Harry think of a random reason why he wouldn't show up. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, it was just like the week after they had their blowout in December. Both boys stayed at their desks, not moving a muscle. They didn't speak to each other or even acknowledge the other's presence. When Louis left on Thursday night, he didn't bother saying goodbye; he just sent his pages to the printer and walked out. 

"Alright, that's it," Niall exclaimed, bursting into Louis' room on Friday without knocking.

"That's what?" Louis asked, confused. He hadn't been doing anything, just sitting in his room, pretending to study, like he'd been doing all week. 

"Liam, Zayn and I decided we don't want to see you moping around here anymore. You won't tell us what's wrong with you and Harry, but we all know something happened. So we're going out tonight."

"Nothing happened-"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, nothing happened between you and Harry. You'll tell us when you're ready. Anyway, we're leaving at 10, so be ready."

"Where are we going?" Louis wondered.

"Shoreline. They're having their reopening tonight, and we're going."

Louis remembered Shoreline. It was one of the popular bars/clubs in the area, but it had a huge fire at the end of Louis' sophomore year. Louis had never been there, since he wasn't 21 at the time, but it was supposed to be a good time.

"Who's going?"

"Everyone. Literally, it's all anyone's been talking about all week."

Louis shrugged. He hadn't really noticed anyone else talking about it, to be honest.

"I don't know if I'm up for it."

"You're going. I'll drag you out of here myself. So will Zayn and Liam. You need a night out."

Louis looked up at his blonde roommate, who had the "Try me" look on his face. Guess Louis had to go.

"Fine. I'll be ready."

"That's the spirit!" Niall yelled. "Can't wait. Make sure you wear your cologne and shit. And take a shower, because... Damn."

Niall wrinkled up his nose and walked out of the room.

\---

The Shoreline reopening was bigger than Louis expected. Apparently Taylor University wasn't the only college that had students that were excited to go to the club on the first night it was open in almost two years.

The bar itself was two floors. The entrance on the main level opened up to a large pub, with flat-screen TVs on every wall broadcasting the latest sports games, as well as pool tables and two different bars.

If you went downstairs, however, you found a club setting, with two dance floors and four bars, the largest of which sat in the center of the room.

Louis had been downstairs for more than two hours already, and despite being on the dance floor for the majority of the time, he had a pretty good buzz going on.

Blame it on the dollar beers the club had been offering as part of its reopening event. Also, since the space around the bars had been so packed, Louis may have been double fisting all night. May have.

As he made his way up to the bar to get more drinks, he felt someone grab his arm and pull him off to the side.

"Louis, I need your help."

He looked at Eleanor's face as she pleaded with him, unsure of what she could possibly need.

"Spill. What's wrong?"

"OK, there's this guy here. Long story short, we went out on one date like, two months ago, and he for some reason thinks that I'm gonna hook up with him just because we're both here. Can you just pretend to be my boyfriend or something so he'll leave me alone?"

Louis shrugged one shoulder. "Yeah, you got it."

"Thank you," she sighed in relief. 

"I'm getting a drink, what do you want?"

"Malibu Bay Breeze," she answered immediately.

Louis rolled his eyes. "You're such a girl."

"Gee, thanks," El lightly elbowed him in the side.

Louis laughed as he walked up to the bar. He'd always liked Eleanor. She was funny, pretty, smart and very talented at her job, making the most boring person in the world sound completely amazing. 

If Louis was straight, El would totally be the kind of girl he would go for. 

But Louis wasn't straight, and as it stood, he very much wanted to be with a different brunette.

He swooped into an open space at the bar as another guy walked away and flagged down one of the seven bartenders behind the counter. Yes, seven. 

After a few minutes, he walked away carrying El's drink and two glass bottles, only spending $4. God bless college bars.

He found his "girlfriend" talking to a tall, blonde guy, and based on the way El had her arms crossed, looking around the club, Louis knew this had to be the guy she had been trying to avoid.

He slipped into "protective boyfriend mode" immediately.

"Hello, babe," he cooed, wrapping one arm around El's slender waist. "I got your drink for you."

"Oh, thank you!" El responded happily.

He handed her the tall glass that she wanted and took a long sip from one of his beer bottles before turning to the guy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, man. Where are my manners?" He switched both bottles into his left hand and extended his right to shake the other guy's hand. "I'm Louis."

"Scott," the blonde replied, taking Louis' hand.

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for keeping my girlfriend company; I really hate leaving her all alone in the club. You never know what kind of creeps will be lurking around, you know."

He pulled his hand back and took another drink from his bottle, not bothering to hide the smirk that crossed his lips.

"Girlfriend?" He looked at El in surprise.

"Yup. Isn't he amazing?"

El beamed at Louis, and he could see the look in her eyes that said  _Thank you, thank you, thank you._

"You're the amazing one, El. And I'll tell you that every day for the rest of forever."

Louis knew he was laying it on really thick, but he was having fun with this. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Scott squirming around, trying to figure out the best way to get out of this conversation.

"You're so sweet, Lou," El said, and Louis could tell she was trying not to laugh.

"Not as sweet as you, Muffin," he cooed, leaning in and kissing her on the lips.

He noticed that El's lips were soft. But, they were too soft. There was no force behind the lips that were pressing against his own. 

Like there was when a certain other person was kissing him.

He heard Scott clear his throat as they pulled away from each other.

"Right, well, I'll see you guys later then. Congrats on finding someone, El," he said.

The second he was out of earshot, Louis and Eleanor burst out laughing. 

"The rest of forever?" El mocked, wiping tears from her eyes. "What the fuck was that all about?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist,  _Muffin._ That was just too much fun. I haven't had to act like a fake boyfriend for someone in a while."

"Well you did a great job of it, I must say. He should be leaving me alone now."

For the rest of the night, Louis and Eleanor stuck side by side. After finishing their drinks, they went out on the dance floor for a while.

Eleanor leaned back into him, and Louis put his hands on her hips so that the two of them could move together.

But while they grinded, Louis felt like this was just wrong. He should be in front of, not behind, the person he's dancing with. He was used to being the  _grindee,_ not the  _grinder._

When Louis breathed in, all he smelled was Eleanor's flowery perfume, and while it was nice, it was nothing like the fresh, clean smell of Harry's body wash. 

He suddenly missed the younger boy, even though they hadn't spoken all week. 

They danced for a little while more, eventually leaving the dance floor when it got even more crowded, if that was at all possible.

"Do you mind if I go make a phone call real quick?" Louis asked. He didn't want to leave her all alone.

"Yeah, that's fine. I see Dani over there anyway. I haven't seen her all night."

The two parted ways, and Louis walked up the stairs and out the front door, already dialing Harry's number. There was a chill in the mid-February air, but Louis was so sweaty from dancing all night he didn't even feel it. 

On the sixth ring, Harry finally picked up.

"Hullo?" he murmured. 

_Holy fuck, Harry's sleepy voice is sexy._

Louis paused as he imagined all of the things he wanted to do with sleepy Harry. 

"Lou?" Harry asked. "Are you there?"

"Hey, yeah, sorry, I couldn't hear you for a second. Were you asleep? I didn't mean to wake you."

Truth was, Louis didn't even know what time it was. He hadn't bothered checking before calling Harry.

"No, it's fine. I fell asleep on the couch, actually. Now I can go to my room."

"Wait, couch? Where are you?"

"Oh, I went home for the weekend," Harry answered nonchalantly.

_Harry's at home?_

Louis didn't have any idea. He just assumed Harry wasn't at Shoreline because he wasn't 21 yet.

"I didn't know you went home this weekend," Louis stated. 

"Yeah, my sister came and got me after my class let out today. I just... didn't want to stay on campus this weekend."

"Oh."

"Yeah... Are you OK? It's like, 2 a.m., and you don't usually call me. Like, ever."

"No, I'm fine, I just wanted to ask what you were up to this weekend. But now I know."

"You called me at two in the morning to ask what I'm doing this weekend?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, it was just on my mind. Wanted to ask before I forgot. Anyway, I'll let you go to sleep, Haz. Talk to you later," Louis rushed out all in one breath.

He barely heard Harry saying "Good night" before hanging up the phone.

Harry was running. That was the only explanation. Harry was trying to avoid Louis even more because, why? 

_Because he doesn't want to be with you._

Louis tried to tune out the voice in his head that was speaking Louis' fear.

Louis had thought that Harry was sincere when he said that he wanted to make a relationship work. But they hadn't spoken in a week, not since the night Jake and Aiden had caught them. They didn't talk the morning after, when Harry had snuck out of Louis' room. They didn't speak all week at the office when they were just feet away from each other, either. In fact, this phone call was the first time Harry had spoken directly to him in seven days.

But why? Louis told Harry that he wasn't mad at him and that although they didn't get together in the best way, he wouldn't have changed a thing. 

He even put the blame on himself, because Louis did find himself at fault for the whole situation. So why was Harry running away from Louis? What had he done?

_You're not worth it._

Louis shuddered at the thought, because no, that couldn't be right. Harry had told Louis that he was worth it. That he was worth fighting for.

_You didn't actually believe that, did you?_

Harry said he wanted to make a relationship with him work, even though Louis would be graduating soon and they would be separated. There's no way that he would take those words back so soon.

_Sure he would. Justin did. Maybe you're the problem._

Louis rubbed his temple with the palms of his hands, dragging his hands down the side of his face. He needed to get out of here. The crowd, the bass pumping downstairs and the alcohol in his system were getting to be too much.

He made his way back inside, flashing the wristband he got when he first walked in, and looked for someone. Anyone. 

He found Niall and Josh by one of the pool tables, just finishing up a game against Zayn and Perrie.

"I want to go home," he spoke softly into Niall's ear.

The blonde boy turned around and, taking in the expression on Louis' face, nodded swiftly.

"OK, we can go. Sure."

"Lou, you alright?" Perrie asked kindly.

He just shook his head, listening to Zayn on the phone. 

"Yeah, we have to go," he spoke as quickly as he could. "No, I don't know what happened. We have to go. Now."

Zayn hung up and said, "Liam's coming upstairs now."

Perrie wrapped her arms around Louis, burying her face in his neck. Louis returned the hug, clutching her tightly. He knew he was starting to lose it, as he felt everyone's eyes on him. 

A few minutes later, Liam came through the door with Dani and El. 

"Alright, Josh make sure the girls get home OK?"

The sports editor nodded and assured that he would drive them all back to campus before sweeping Niall into a hug. 

"Love you," they whispered to each other with a kiss on the lips.

Perrie released Louis then and kissed Zayn on the cheek. "Call me later," she told him.

Louis felt bad about pulling his friends away from their dates, but he couldn't deal with it anymore.

He turned and started walking toward the door, soon feeling Zayn's arm around his shoulders. 

\---

The rest of the weekend passed by slowly. Louis still wouldn’t tell his friends what happened at the club on Friday night, even though they kept asking. Because the truth was, Louis just wanted to talk to Harry. And it pissed him off how badly he wanted to do so. 

Liam thought he knew what was wrong with Louis, as his behavior was very familiar to him. This was how Louis acted after the whole Justin incident. Liam suspected that because Harry wasn't talking to Louis, as far as he knew, anyway, that Louis was being reminded of how Justin ignored Louis as their relationship, or whatever it was that they had, came to an end. 

That had to be it. Louis was reliving all of those feelings he had about himself, and was now probably telling himself he wasn't good enough. Just like he had two years ago. 

And that was making Liam angry, as well. Because how dare Harry treat Louis that way? Liam always liked Harry, but if this was what was happening to Louis, one of his best friends in the world, then he wasn't sure he wanted the younger boy to be around any more.

On Sunday afternoon, there was a knock at the door, and Niall answered. 

"Is Louis here?" Harry asked, standing in the doorway. 

Niall nodded, letting him in. "He's in his room."

"You better not screw this up," Liam stated, walking out of his room. "He's been miserable because of you."

Harry winced. He knew that much was true, but it hurt hearing it confirmed.

But also, he'd never seen Liam angry before. Frustrated or annoyed, sure. But this Liam was a little intimidating. Zayn walked out of his room, too, not wanting to miss anything.

"Right," Harry muttered. He walked down the hall and knocked on Louis' door, entering when the older boy called out, "Come in."

He found Louis lying on his bed, scrolling through something on his phone. His hair was undone, looking like it hadn't been washed since Harry last saw him in the office. He wore sweatpants and an old T-shirt, with light bags under his eyes.

Even though he looked a mess, Harry still couldn't picture anyone more beautiful.

"Hi," Harry said quietly.

Louis looked up from his phone, realizing that it wasn't one of his roommates, like he'd thought it was.

"Hey."

The two boys stared at each other, both knowing that it had to be Harry who made the first move. 

But Harry wasn't sure what to say other than, "I'm sorry."

So he did, and watched as Louis rolled his eyes at him.

"For what, Harry? For getting my hopes up? For walking out on me? For avoiding me for a week? For making me cry? For making me feel like I'm nothing to you? What?"

Harry took in the look on Louis' face and flinched. He'd expected Louis to be mad at him, but this was beyond anger. This was furious, livid and completely pissed off. 

"For all of it. I'm sorry. I'm an idiot."

"You know what? Yeah, you are," Louis growled, sitting up in his bed. "I tell you I don't want to date a coworker and you still don't leave my mind. For months, I was thinking about you and what you were doing and what it would be like to be with you. Then, when I finally tell you why I won't date you, you act all understanding and you agree to just be friends. Do you know how hard it was for me to tell you about Justin? Some of my best friends don't even know about him, and you did. He  _hurt_ me and made me feel like shit, and then you turn around and do the exact same thing."

"I didn't mean to, I swear!" Harry exclaimed. "I just, needed to think."

"And you think I didn't? I thought long and hard about everything I ever did. Except for when I kissed you after you told me that  _you_ wanted to break up with Aiden. That was the only spontaneous thing I've ever done around you because I didn't want to get hurt again. And look at that, I'm still hurt. And screwed up. And pissed off."

"I needed to get past the fact that I just hurt Aiden and Jake at the same time. I cheated on my boyfriend and screwed over my roommate. Sue me, I felt guilty!"

"So tell me that! You need space? Need time to be alone for a little while? OK, that's fine. I'm here for you, whatever you need. But don't not talk to me because you feel guilty. That doesn't help anything! Because the truth was, we had a great week together until Aiden and Jake walked in on us, and I thought that we were working toward a relationship. I knew that the both of them were still in the picture, and yeah, I did feel bad about that, too, but we were ending things with them when the time was right. You made me feel like whatever we were trying for was over because maybe you changed your mind about us. Meanwhile, I sat in silence for a week not knowing what was going through your head."

"Why didn't you just ask me what was wrong?"

"Because I didn't know how, Harry!" Louis yelled. "I just- I felt you pulling away from me so quickly, and that's what it was like when..."

He didn’t finish his thought, but he didn’t have to.

"When? When Justin ended things with you?"

"Yeah, actually. We hung out one day, and then boom! That was it. No contact for a week. Then that week turned into two, and then it was just over. So when you go a week avoiding me and then I find out that you just went home for the weekend because you didn't want to be on campus, well, excuse me for thinking that you don't want to be around me."

"That's not it at all, Lou," Harry explained. 

"I knew you were going to beat yourself up over this," Louis started. "I knew it. But I told you that I don't blame you. Whatever Aiden said, it's bullshit, because he's a dick who was saying so much shit out of anger. I never blamed you for anything and you didn't see that."

"I'm sorry, Louis! I don't know what else to say, I panicked!"

"Panicked? About what?" Louis questioned. "You said you were all in on this relationship. I asked you if you were, and you said yes. And I was, too."

"Was?" 

"Yeah, was. You told me I was worth it, and that you wanted to make this relationship work, and then all of a sudden, you're out. Without a word. You told me that a long-distance relationship was something you wanted with me. And I can't even trust you to talk to me when we're on the same campus. How am I supposed to trust that you'll talk to me when we're hours apart? I mean, hell, we're not even officially dating right now, and you're already bailing when times get tough. That's not the kind of shit I need to deal with. Not again."

"What are you saying?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm saying to get the fuck out of my room. See you at work tomorrow."

His face was completely expressionless, letting Harry know that he meant what he said.

"Louis, come on," Harry begged. "Don't do this. Not now. Not after everything."

"Get out, Harry," Louis said louder.

"No. Louis, I want to be with you. And I am all in. I already told you."

Louis jumped down from his bed.

"Get out!" He shoved Harry toward the door. "Get out!"

The door burst open then, revealing an angry Liam standing there, with Niall and Zayn just behind him.

"You need to leave, Harry," Liam decided.

OK, whatever Liam was before was now magnified, and Harry went from intimidated to scared. Harry knew that he had muscles, but Liam was built. Like, if Liam was angry enough, he could Hulk Up and rip Harry in half. 

Zayn walked into the room and wrapped an arm around Louis, partially shielding him from Harry, as if he was a threat.

Harry looked to Niall for help, but was met with an icy glare.

Realizing that he was outnumbered, he slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"OK, just, Lou-"

"Go, Harry!" Liam exclaimed, this time, with more of a pleading tone to his voice.

Harry turned and left the room. He paused by the front door when he heard Niall, Liam and Zayn consoling Louis. 

He was still the reason for Louis' pain, and for that he would never forgive himself. He had to figure out a way to make it right. 


	25. Long Time, No See

"Can you please tell us what happened?"

Louis didn't have to look up from his plate at breakfast Monday morning to know that his three best friends were looking at him with concerned eyes.

"There's nothing to tell," Louis answered sadly.

"Lou, you gotta give us something," Niall pleaded. "We threw Harry out of here yesterday because of something that happened between you two.  _Harry_. The guy we work with who would never hurt a fly. He's got that puppy dog quality about him. Almost as much as Liam."

Liam raised his eyebrows at the comparison but didn't say anything.

"I never asked you to throw him out," Louis said.

"But you're our best friend, and he was making you upset," Zayn started. "And with everything that's been going on lately..."

"We didn't want you to say something that you couldn't take back," Niall finished.

Louis muttered a 'thanks.' He still felt all three boys staring at him, so he said, "I thought we were going to make a relationship work and now we're not. End of story."

"But why?" Zayn asked. "You guys were good. I mean, you even said you just had a few things to work out. I thought that meant Jake and Aiden. And Harry broke up with Aiden, didn't he?"

That much was true. Last night before he went to bed, Louis saw the Facebook update that said, " **Harry Styles**  is now  **single.** " Even though the relationship had been over more than a week ago, but whatever.

"He did."

"Well, did you break things off with Jake?" Niall questioned.

"Yeah, I did."

"So what's the problem?" Zayn threw his hands up in the air.

"It's complicated," Louis sighed. 

"Well uncomplicate it," Zayn stated. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like you're both hurt over breaking up with the guys you were dating. And now that there's nothing standing in your way of being together, you won't go for it."

"That's not it."

"Well what is it?" Niall asked. 

So he told them everything. Finally. He told them about how they got caught in Harry's dorm room on Valentine's Day. He told them about their conversation that night while they ate pizza. He told them about the morning after, when Harry left Louis sleeping alone in his room. He also tried to tell Zayn and Niall about Justin, only to be informed that Liam already explained that situation weeks ago. 

"Sorry," Liam blushed. "I know you didn't want anyone else knowing, but I-"

"Liam, it's OK," Louis assured. "I should've told you guys about that sooner."

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I guess I was embarrassed. I really just wanted to forget all about him. And here we are, two years later, and I'm living the exact same scenario."

"So I was right," Liam said, a little smugly, Louis noticed.

"Right about what?"

"You. Justin. Harry. You think that Harry's going to up and leave you like Justin did."

Louis shifted in his seat, but didn't say anything. 

"Lou, you can't honestly think that Harry would do that to you," Niall said gently.

"Well he already has, hasn't he?" Liam scoffed, a little of yesterday's anger seeping in.

"Liam..." Zayn started.

"What? I understand Louis' train of thought. Harry walked away the second he thought he might have to work for the relationship. And I'm sorry, but that's not the kind of guy Louis needs. He's already dealt with that."

Louis stared in awe at his friend, because it was like Liam was reading his thoughts exactly. 

"I told him all about Justin," Louis said. "He knew. And then he turns around and does the same thing."

"But Louis, this isn't the same thing," Zayn reasoned. "Harry wants to be with you. We can all see that. But he said it himself, he felt guilty about screwing over Aiden and Jake. That's what made him leave that morning. It had nothing to do with you, he was probably angrier with himself than anyone else. He hurt people and he's letting himself take the full force of it."

"But I told him not to blame himself for it!" Louis exclaimed.

"I'm sure you did, but he will. That's just who he is. It's that puppy-dog factor."

"I know, I know, it's just..."

"Louis, can I tell you something?" Niall interrupted.

Louis shrugged his shoulders.

"I know exactly what you're feeling. Right now, you're thinking about how much you hate Harry and how much of a dick he is and how you're counting down the days until graduation when you never have to see him again. Am I right?"

Louis nodded, because of course Niall knew exactly what was going through Louis' head.

"Well listen, you're absolutely entitled to have those thoughts. But don't let that stop you from at least considering the possibility of letting Harry in. The two of you weren't even official yet, so if you don't accept the fact that you really like him and try again, you'll constantly be wondering 'What if?' You guys have something special, so don't let your fear get in the way of that."

"I guess."

"Well I know. It worked for me and Josh."

"Don't know if that's the best example to use, Niall," Liam stated. "I mean, all of us were against you getting back together with Josh, remember?"

"I know that, but can you imagine what would have happened if I'd listened to you? I'd have missed out on the best relationship of my life."

Louis lowered his gaze, because  _fuck._ What was he supposed to do with this?

Liam got up to start clearing plates before Louis realized something.

"Wait a minute." He held out his hands to stop his friends from moving. "Harry told me about how guilty he felt in my room yesterday. You guys weren't in there with us. How did you know he said that?"

The other three boys exchanged awkward glances between each other.

"Um, we may have been eavesdropping for a little bit outside the door," Zayn finally admitted. 

Louis looked between the three of them with wide eyes.

"What?" Liam asked innocently. "I needed to know if I had to help out or something."

Louis slapped his forehead with his palm before dragging his hand down his face. 

"I need new friends."

\---

_Graduation._

Fuck. Harry never thought he would have to worry about graduation so soon, since he was still a sophomore, but here he was. 

"... So, the five of us need to make sure we choose wisely," Liam continued. 

Liam was, of course, talking about the senior editors picking their replacements for next year. Graduation was only two months away, and new editors required a few weeks of training before officially taking over their new positions. 

"I think it goes without saying that my replacement will be Dani," he looked over and smiled at his girlfriend. Yup, girlfriend. It had been official for only an hour. "So, Dani, it's up to you to pick yours. Any editor is eligible for the spot."

"Even me?" Louis chirped sarcastically.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Louis, only non-graduating editors are eligible to be Managing Editor."

"So I just don't have to graduate? Done."

"Louis, with God as my witness," Liam said, "with all the times I had to drag your ass out of bed to go to classes or finals, or make you study or write an article, you  _will_ be graduating on time."

Louis joined in with the laughter heard around the table. "Yeah, I guess four years in one place is long enough, huh? Definitely time for me to move on."

_But I don't want you to just 'move on.'_

Harry wanted to say that to Louis, but couldn't, so he just watched the older boy as he smiled his crinkly-eyed smile.

Louis looked down toward the table as Liam finished up. "So, Perrie, Louis, Josh, Stan and Dani will need to notify the people they choose by March 10, so that gives you two weeks to pick if you haven't already. The newbies can begin training the week of the 24th, when we get back from spring break."

Harry started to tune out the rest of the meeting then. On a normal day, he and Louis would start playing a game at this point, just so they wouldn't have to listen to all of the boring stuff. But today, Louis wasn't giving Harry a glance, or a sign that he was even acknowledging Harry's existence. He'd been expecting it, but it still hurt. 

On top of that, Liam's little speech just made everything seem so real. He had less than three months left on the same campus as Louis. That was nothing. It was weird to think that it had been almost a year since his first conversation with Louis. The first real conversation, when Louis told him that they had no choice but to be friends because of how much they worked together. Now it seemed like they couldn't be friends, or anything more, because of that very fact.

Harry looked over at Louis only to find the blue-eyed boy already staring at him. They held their eye contact for just a second before Louis looked back toward the table. 

_I've got to fix this._

\---

On Wednesday afternoon, Louis was about to leave for the office. He checked his Facebook one last time, even though he knew he would be on it for the rest of the night once he was at his desk.

Then he saw it. 

" **Zayn Malik**  is in a relationship with  **Perrie Edwards.** "

It sat very neatly under the " **Liam Payne** is in a relationship with  **Danielle Peazer** " that was updated on Monday.

 _Ugh. Traitors. Every single one of them_. 

Louis turned off his computer and grabbed his things to leave his currently empty apartment. 

Zipping up his hoodie, Louis stepped outside, taking in the cool air. It was that strange in-between feeling with the weather, where it still wanted to be winter, but also wanted to start warming up for the spring.

He was going to miss this walk. Ever since Liam cruelly reminded them that editors needed to pick their replacements, all Louis had been thinking about was everything he was going to miss - living with his best friends, working in the office, even walking to classes. He would miss the environment that he had loved for the last almost four years of his life, and knew he would never get this experience again.

Unless he wanted to go to grad school or something, but Louis was definitely not about that life.

He soon reached the office, and found the side door propped open, meaning someone was already in there. He walked in and went down the long hallway, pushing open the big wooden door that sat at the end.

When he looked, he didn't see anyone at their desks, instead, finding them all crowded around- 

"Sheeran!" he yelled out, taking in the presence of his ginger-haired former co-worker. "How the hell are you?"

Ed stood up from the table and swept Louis into a hug. "I've been good, Tommo, took you long enough to get here."

"It's 3:30. I always get here at 3:30 on Wednesdays."

"Well you should've known to get here early today, obviously."

"Why? So I could look at your ugly face for longer than I have to?"

"Obviously," Ed repeated.

The two of them laughed at each other's sarcasm.

"Missed you, man," Louis said, clapping him on the back. "Where have you been?"

"Working, or at least trying to." 

Ed sat back down in the chair he was in, and Louis noticed it was the chair he always sat in last year.

"I've been freelancing for my town's local newspaper, and also working part time in this art studio in Philly. At least it's interesting."

"And it took you all this time to come visit us?" Liam asked from his seat.

"I was waiting for Beales to be able to come down with me, but you know how busy he is, lately."

Louis did know. After graduation, Sandy did a fall internship at CSN, a news network dedicated to Philadelphia sports. They'd liked him so much that they offered him a writing position starting in January, and had been working day and night since then. 

"Well at least someone made it far," Niall commented. "Maybe I'll call him up next year, see if I can get an internship at CSN. That's like, my dream."

"Do it; you never know until you try," Josh encouraged with a smile, which Niall returned.

"So things are going well with you two, I see," Ed looked at the two of them.

They just nodded as a confirmation, not actually saying anything.

"Anybody else? Come on, I'm out of the loop here. Payno, I saw you finally asked out Dani, congrats."

Liam blushed a little as everyone else gave a little cheer. It was a good thing Dani wasn't here yet; otherwise Louis suspected he would've passed out from all the attention.

"Zayn asked me out this morning," Perrie gushed, giving a little clap.

"Saw that one coming," Ed said. "Is that it? Oh wait. Oi! Harry!"

_Oh no._

Harry came stumbling out of his office, pulling a headphone from his ear. "Yeah?"

"How's that boyfriend of yours? Aiden, right?"

A silence fell over the group because it seemed that Ed was the only one who didn't see that Facebook update.

"Oh, um..." Harry looked down at his feet. "We broke up, actually."

"Oh fuck," Ed swore loudly. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't know. Honestly."

"It's OK." Harry offered a small smile. "Shit happens. He wasn't the guy I really wanted to be with, anyway."

_Ouch._

Louis looked at Harry then, and found the younger boy looking anywhere but at him. He tried to ignore the glances Liam and Niall were giving him, too. 

"Well, now that I've made this perfectly awkward," Ed started, "you guys should get to work. It's Wednesday, shouldn't you guys all be doing something?"

The group nodded before returning to their desks. Louis wasn't surprised when Ed plopped down in the seat next to his.

"So how have you been, Lou?" 

Louis shrugged his shoulders as he signed on to his computer.

"Same, really. Working here, wanting to pull my hair out with all the freshmen. I live with Niall, Liam and Zayn this year."

"Yeah, Zayn. How is my photographer? Still doing good?"

"Yeah, he's great," Louis said. "I don't work with him really, since I never need pictures taken, but yeah he's doing good. Taking a lot more photos than he was last year, I think."

"Good, glad to hear it. You know, when I was getting ready to pick the new editor, it came down to Zayn and Harry for me."

"Really? What swayed your decision?"

"Zayn did. I actually approached him first, but he said no. Said he didn't want all the responsibility. But I thought that was weird, because he was a photographer for his school newspaper before he transferred here, and he'd done so much for me last year, so I thought it was just something that he was working toward, you know? So in the end, I chose Harry, because he was always a reliable guy, too. He didn't let me down, did he?"

Louis paused before speaking.

He didn't know that just on the other side of the wall, Harry was listening to the conversation.

"He didn't let you down," Louis answered. "He's been great. He always manages to get the right photographers sent out on an assignment. His photo spreads are amazing and he gets everything edited on time. He's a lot like you. He even saved my ass once, when we had a sixteen-page issue a while back. He's awesome; you made the right choice."

Harry beamed from where he was standing. Even though Louis hated him, he still had nice words to say about him.

"All right, good to know. Glad to know I didn't leave you with someone totally incompetent, like Justin was. Ugh."

Louis stopped working on his layout and turned to Ed. "What do you mean?"

Harry leaned in closer to hear everything that Ed would say.

"Justin. He was such a bad editor. Did you know he once sent me to the wrong game? He told me to go to a volleyball game to take photos, but there was already a photographer there. He meant to send me to field hockey, which was all the way across campus. I wound up missing the whole game, so field hockey didn't have any pictures. And he got mad at me for it. He was an idiot."

"I didn't know that, actually."

"Didn't you like him for a little while?" Ed asked.

Louis nodded. "Yeah, I did. He was always so funny. Made me laugh, was really nice to me."

"Don't get me wrong, he was a cool dude, but was not made to be in charge. Couldn't keep his shit together."

"Got that right," Louis agreed. 

"Can we go to Trailblazer's for dinner? I've missed that place."

"Hell yeah, we can. 5:30?"

"Perfect, now get to work. I'm gonna go bug Harry for a little bit."

Harry shuffled back to his seat to make it look like he hadn't been listening to a private conversation for the last ten minutes. But at least he knew now that Louis still respected him as an editor. He also knew that this Justin guy was an idiot. Not that he didn't already know that, because let's face it, anybody who would let Louis go must be completely stupid. 

\---

At 5:35, Louis, Ed, Harry, Perrie, Liam and Josh walked into Trailblazer's.

The group of six walked into the big room and split up to figure out what they all want. 

The cafeteria was separated into different zones. There were the coolers, which had cold drinks, sushi and wraps; the grill, which cooked the hot foods like chicken Parmesan, cheesesteaks and chicken fingers; the salad station; the pasta station and the hoagie station. All of the food at the stations was prepared fresh when it was ordered, and students paid with their Dining Dollars before they left.

At the ordering kiosk, Harry told Ed, "You get what you want; I'm paying for you."

"If you insist," Ed responded without hesitation.

"You're going to get a cheeseburger, aren't you?" Louis asked from the kiosk next to him.

"Of course. What else is there?" 

The two of them shared a laugh, and Harry wished he could be the one making Louis laugh.

Fifteen minutes later, the group was ready to go, with everyone having picked up their food at whatever station they ordered from. 

They walked back into the office, greeting the other half of the staff that was working hard on their sections.

After they finished eating, they were all reluctant to go back to their desks and continue working, so they sat and talked for a few minutes. 

"Guys, I have to get sentimental for a minute," Ed stated.

"Oh boy, here we go," Louis muttered, taking a sip of his soda.

"Shut up, Lou. No, I'm just gonna say, when you guys graduate, make sure you leave here doing everything you wanted to do. I feel like there were some things I wish I had more time to do."

"Like what?" Harry asked, leaning forward in his chair. 

"Little things. Talked to more people. Made more time to talk to my professors outside of class. Hell, I even wish I'd studied more."

"Now you're just lying through your teeth," Louis joked. "No way you wish you studied more."

"... I go through my phases where I wish that," Ed answered, laughing. "I don't know; I just miss this place. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the day I first walked into this office and start all over again."

Something clicked in Harry's head when Ed said that.

_Go back to the day I first walked into this office._

"You don't really mean that, do you?" Perrie wondered.

"Sure I do. You'll see what I'm talking about when you're out in the real world, with real things to worry about. College was easy. This is your time to make your mistakes and do what you want. Because it's not going to be possible in a few months."

"Alright, this is getting a little too real for me," Louis stated, standing up. "Think it's time to get back to work, in my safe, sheltered college office."

"Agreed," Liam said. "Back to work, everybody."

The group dumped their trash before returning to their desks to finish up their work for the night.

As Harry made his way back into his office, his plan of how to win Louis back was already forming in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry. The next chapter is coming soon!


	26. We're A Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty sure this is what you've all been waiting for. And it's 5,000 words, too.  
> Try not to die, because... so much fluffy Larry.

"Harry, why should I help you?"

Liam posed this question Friday morning as the two of them walked away from the counter at the campus Starbucks.

"Liam, I get it; I really do," Harry began, taking a sip of his coffee. "You already saw Louis get his heart broken and you don't want it to happen again."

"Then the very next year, I watched Niall go through it. Granted, it worked out for Niall in the end, but-"

"So why don't you think Louis and I could be like Niall and Josh?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could be. I just..."

"Don't trust me not to hurt him again?" Harry asked. 

Liam took a long drink from his cup instead of answering.

"Listen, Liam, I've never liked someone else the way I like Louis," Harry said. "I thought Aiden was the one for me, but now I realize how wrong I was about that. I need Louis to give me another chance, and I know I won't screw this up again."

"You know it'll take a miracle to get him to talk to you again?"

"I do know that. I have a plan already."

Harry explained to Liam what he was going to do as they walked across campus toward the Fine Arts building. 

"It will be challenging, and I'll have to have everybody set up and ready to go, because timing is everything."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I know it'll work. It's something Louis and I have done before, just  _better_."

"You know you'll have to explain to everybody what's going on?" Liam wondered. "I mean, your plan requires the whole editorial staff to be on board with getting you and Louis back together."

"I realize that. But I think that they'll agree to it. Like Louis says, when you're friends like all of us are, we don't have a choice."

Liam sighed, considering his options.

"Liam, I know you hate me, but I can't do this without you. The others, especially Zayn and Niall, won't go through with it if you don't help out."

"I don't hate you, Harry."

"Seemed like it the other day."

"I didn't hate you then, and I definitely don't now. I just needed Louis to not be upset anymore."

Suddenly it hit him.

"Shit," Liam realized.

"What's wrong?"

"Can I tell you something, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Of course."

"I've only seen Louis break down twice in my life. The first time was after the whole Justin thing. And the second was before winter break, when he thought that he'd screwed things up with you forever."

Harry flinched at the vivid memory of Louis, angry and in tears. 

"I guess I really don't have a choice here, do I?" Liam sighed.

"So is that a yes? You'll help me?"

Liam nodded and offered a small smile. "Yeah, I'm in."

\---

It was Tuesday night, and Louis was alone in the apartment, strangely enough. 

He was getting ready to go to the office, because apparently, Higgins and Teasdale wanted to have a meeting with the seniors about the final weeks of the paper. It wasn't anything that Louis didn't already know; he had been through enough students graduating and training to be able to figure out what to do. But, they were the advisers, so it's not like he could really say no.

At 5:25, he put on his sneakers and pulled on his jacket. Wondering where his roommates were, he walked out of the apartment, locking the door behind him. 

As he made his way down toward the office, he looked toward the parking lot to his right and thought he saw Josh sitting in one of the cars parked there. He stopped walking and shook his head. When he looked again, the car was empty. 

_Weird._

He walked into the office to find that he was the first one there. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned on the lights and sat down in his seat at the table. 

He took out his phone and started looking through his apps to find a game to play while he waited. Just as Flappy Bird was loaded up, he saw the door open out of the corner of his eye.

Harry walked in and shut the door behind him.

_I thought this was a meeting for the seniors?_

Before Louis could ask that, Harry began speaking.

"Hi, um, I'm Harry. Styles. Liam told me to meet you here."

Louis furrowed his brow in confusion. 

"What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"Shit. He didn't tell you?" Harry rushed out. "Um, I'm Harry, the new Photo Editor. You're supposed to show me my office and where to put my camera?"

He raised one shoulder and Louis noticed the black messenger bag he had slung over it. 

"I am?"

"Yeah, he said that since you tune out meetings anyway, it would be easiest for you to talk to me and get me acquainted with my office."

Louis scoffed, because that was totally something Liam would say. 

He looked at Harry, who just stared back. The younger boy gave him a nod and raised his eyebrows, as if encouraging him to go on. 

_All right, I'll play along._

"Right, right. Must've slipped my mind," Louis said, getting up from his chair. "Oh, I'm being rude, I'm sorry. Harry, nice to meet you, I'm Louis Tomlinson."

"I know," Harry said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he looked like he'd just made a huge mistake. "I mean, um, yeah, I've seen you at meetings before. You're the Opinion Editor, right?"

"That's right; have been since the end of my freshman year."

Saying that just made Louis remember how close he was to graduation. 

"Well, your office is right here. You've been in here with Ed, right?" 

Louis assumed they were acting like this was Harry's first day as an editor or something, but he couldn't figure out why. This whole scenario was a little bizarre.

"I have been, yeah. I just don't know where anything is."

"Got it. Well, Ed usually keeps his cameras in this cabinet here," Louis walks over to the cabinet next to the desk. "The key is always in this drawer."

He reached down to the bottom drawer on the desk and pulled out a silver key.

"We keep it locked just so nobody can take anything, obviously."

"Right," Harry breathed out, his eyes not leaving Louis.

"So, just unlock it, and here we have everything you'll need."

He opened the cabinet to show an assortment of digital cameras as well as a few digital voice recorders. 

"If any of the editors have an interview to conduct, they can sign out one of the recorders. The pad is right here," Louis picked up a yellow note pad taped to the inside of the cabinet door, "and then they sign the recorder back in when they bring it back. Writers can sign them out, too, but only the more experienced, aka reliable, ones can do so."

Harry put his messenger bag inside the cabinet, in the same space he'd been keeping it all semester.

He gave Louis a shy smile.

Louis walked him through a few of the basics when it came to the camera cabinet, as well as what was expected of him at meetings. 

"And that's about it, I guess," Louis finished as they walk back into the main offices. "Did you have any questions?"

"No, I think I'm all set," Harry looked down at his feet. 

"OK, um..."

"Um..."

The boys spoke at the same time. 

Harry laughed quietly. "You go first."

"No, it's OK," Louis said. "You go first."

"Well, I was wondering if you might want to hang out some time? With me?"

Louis froze, because  _what the fuck?_

"Huh?" he asked instead. 

"Sorry, it's just..." Harry began. "I've seen you at meetings before, and you just seem like a really cool guy. Plus you're really cute. And I thought you might want to hang out some time?"

"Harry, what the fuck are you talking about? What is going on?"

"Goddammit, Louis, can't you just play along?"

"Go along with what? What's wrong with you?"

"We're starting over!" Harry yelled.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, we're starting over. You got your chance to have us start over as friends, now I'm taking my turn. We're starting over, clean slate."

"Harry, I don't-"

"It's like the whole Aiden and Jake thing never happened. Like we never had our arguments or made ourselves hate each other. Because honestly, this is how I would've asked you out in the beginning, if I had only gotten the guts to. Did you really think I would be this nervous to talk to you now?"

"I don't know, I just- I didn't-"

"Louis, I'm going to ask you one question, and I need you to answer honestly," Harry said. "And I'm hoping you say the right answer, otherwise, I have a lot of calls to make."

"Okay..."

"Can you find it in your heart to forgive me and let me show you how our relationship should've started?"

"I feel like that's two questions," Louis stalled.

"Just answer me? Please?" Harry pleaded. 

Louis looked deep into Harry's green eyes. He could see the longing in there, the pain, as well. But most importantly, he could see the genuine feelings there. And that was all that Louis needed.

"Yeah, I can," he finally answered.

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yeah, Styles. What do you got for me?" Louis smirked.

Harry's smile widened. "Liam!" He turned and yelled toward the door.

Louis watched in surprise as his roommate opened the office door, peeked his head in and asked, "Are we a go?"

"We're a go!" Harry confirmed.

Louis thought he was surprised before, but he was even more so as he watched Liam, Jade and Jesy come in. 

Liam brought in the projector that they used in the office when Higgins and Teasdale wanted to host workshops for the editors, while Jesy carried a laptop and Jade held a bag of freshly popped popcorn and a blanket.

"What's going on?" Louis wondered as Liam and Jesy set up the projector.

"Well, I always figured our first date would be something simple, so I planned a movie and popcorn to chill out. Besides, by the time our first date would have rolled around, we would've already worked together a few times, so we would know enough about each other for it to not be awkward."

"You really thought all that through, Curly?"

"For you, Boo Bear? Of course I did."

Louis let himself smile as Liam announced it was all ready. The two boys pulled up chairs to see the movie being projected on the far wall. Jade gave them the blanket so they could make themselves comfortable before giving Louis the popcorn. 

"Have fun," she said, and she, Jesy and Liam left the room, hitting the lights as they left.

Harry, meanwhile, was setting up the movie. 

"What are we watching?" Louis asked.

" _Love Actually,_ " Harry answered, going to the scene selection menu and skipping ahead to the end.

"How did you know I love that movie?"

"I may have asked Zayn." 

"Zayn? Zayn knows about this? Who else knows?"

"Everyone," Harry confessed.

"Who's everyone?"

"The whole editorial staff. Plus Zayn."

"This better be good, Curly."

"It will be. Now share that popcorn."

Harry relaxed next to Louis and opened the bag. Immediately, Louis was overtaken by the scent of greasy, movie theater popcorn and watched as Mark confessed his love for Juliet through poster board.

The final half hour of the movie rolled through, and Louis found both Harry and himself speaking along with the characters.

It was when Jamie was running through the town to find Aurelia that Louis let himself rest his head on Harry's shoulder. The popcorn was long gone and Louis sighed when Harry wrapped his arm around his shoulders, pulling him in.

The credits soon started rolling, but the boys didn't move from their spots.

"I really do love that movie," Louis said, breaking the silence between them.

"So do I," Harry admitted. He looked at his watch. "Oh, we gotta go. We'll be late."

"Late for what?"

"Date number two."

"Two? How many 'dates' do you have planned for tonight?" 

"Three. Figured I would need a little extra to show you how serious I was."

Louis stared at the younger boy, not knowing what to say.

"Anyway... Louis, I had a lot of fun tonight. Maybe we could do it again?"

"Definitely," Louis answered. 

"Great." Harry leaned in, kissing Louis on the cheek. "Now let's go."

He grabbed Louis' hand and started speed walking out of the office. They walked right past the kitchen, where Liam, Jesy and Jade were sitting and talking.

"Date number two!" Harry yelled as they rushed by.

"See you later!" he heard them shout after them.

They walked right out of the building and up to a waiting black car. "Get in," Harry instructed.

They slid into the backseat and Louis saw Leigh-Anne behind the wheel.

"Buckle up," she told them.

As she pulled away from the curb, Harry told Louis what was next.

"For our second date, I would've taken you bowling. But since we don't have time to go to an actual bowling alley, I found the next best thing."

"Okay, bowling sounds like a fun second date."

"I agree." Harry smiled. 

They soon pulled up to Smith Building, a dorm near Harry's. 

The boys got out and thanked Leigh-Anne for the ride.

"Come on, let's go," Harry said, pulling Louis behind him. He swiped his ID at the entrance and walked in, headed toward the right and up the stairs.

Once they reached the second floor, they walked out and down the hallway. 

"This is it," Harry muttered to himself, as he stopped outside of a door and knocked twice. Inside, Louis could hear girls giggling.

The door opened to reveal Dani and El.

"About time," Dani scolded. "We were starting to get worried he wouldn't go for it."

"Have you so little faith in me?"

"Not really." Dani smiled. "Here's my keys, El has hers for later. Just lock up before you leave. See you guys later." The roommates walked out, but not before El planted a kiss on Louis' cheek and said, "Have fun,  _Muffin_." 

The girls walked down the hallway and into the stairwell. 

"Muffin?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry about it. Just, fake boyfriend situation gone wrong."

"Huh. Well, in we go."

Louis followed Harry into El and Dani's room. He'd been there before, but it looked different. He quickly saw why. 

He nodded toward the gaming system hooked up to the TV on top of Dani's small dresser. "I didn't know they had a Wii." 

"Yeah, El brought it back from home a week or two ago. Said she wanted to play  _Just Dance_ or something. Anyway, she said we could borrow it, for-"

"Let me guess. Wii Bowling?" 

"You're very smart, Mr. Tomlinson, I must say."

Louis grinned as he grabbed a controller. 

Once Harry turned the system on, Louis immediately noticed something else.

"They made us Miis."

Sure enough, there was a little Louis Mii with brown hair, bright eyes and a striped shirt, and a little Harry Mii with big hair, a black shirt and a wide smile.

"They're such girls," Harry muttered fondly. 

The boys played a game of bowling, Louis winning by five points.

"Well that was fun. Want to go again? I'll even let you win this time," Louis offered.

"Nope. No time. We gotta go."

It was almost 7:00. They needed to get a move on.

"This is the strangest date I've ever been on," Louis laughed.

"Just consider it a condensed version. We'll go bowling for real one day."

"I look forward to it. Nothing says romance like smelly rental shoes and chucking a heavy ball down a lane."

Harry rolled his eyes and then quickly took his phone out, firing off a text.

"Besides," he said as he turned off everything in the room, "we've already wasted so much time, why waste any more? Ready?"

Louis nodded and followed his date out of the room. Harry locked the door and the two made their way downstairs and outside.

"OK, so this is actually a calm part of the night," Harry said.

"Is it? How so?"

"Well, we're going to walk down to the lake and relax there for a little while, before our third date."

"Harold, why did you pick three dates?"

"Two wasn't enough, and four was too much," he answered simply.

"Oh," Louis supposed that made sense. 

"So, while we stroll, let's talk."

"About what? We kind of know almost everything about each other."

"I know that, but we're pretending this is only our second date. So tell me about your favorite bands and your family. That kind of stuff."

"OK, well I have four younger sisters and I live with my mom. After I graduate, I'm moving back in until I can save enough money to move out, which will take God only knows how long. But I do have a job lined up. My mom's boyfriend knows a guy who works at one of my local papers, so I have a low-level position waiting for me once I'm home."

"That's great, Louis. Seriously, that's really cool. You're so lucky to have something set up already."

"Tell me about it. I'm just so glad I won't have to worry about finding a job - any job - once May rolls around."

"I'm worried about that already, and I'm still a sophomore," Harry confessed. "Like, if the job market sucks now, what will it be like in two years?"

"You can't think that way, though. You have to be optimistic. For all you know, it could get better in two years. You'll probably have job offers lined up by the time you graduate."

"I guess so."

"Exactly. What about you? What's your family like?" Louis asked as if he had no idea about Harry's family.

"I live with my mom, stepdad and sister. My sister, Gemma, is awesome. She's your age, actually. About to graduate with a degree in Biology. She'll probably cure cancer or something by the time she's 30."

"You're close with your sister."

"That's not really a question," Harry laughed.

"No, it's not. But I can tell by the way you talk about her."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, we're pretty close. Our dad wasn't around when we were younger, so we kind of turned to each other. When our mom remarried, it thankfully wasn't one of those evil stepparent things. Robin's actually really cool. We all get along well."

"That's great," Louis said. "Yeah, that doesn't always happen, does it?"

"Nah. I was really afraid Robin would be this big, scary dude who wanted to ship us off to boarding school and steal my mom for himself, like in all those kid's movies. Thankfully, he wasn't."

Louis smiled up at Harry. "You're something else, you know that?"

"I could say the same about you."

Louis' smile only grew wider. "So what kind of music do you like?"

"Really, you're not going to come up with your own questions?"

Louis shook his head, waiting for an answer.

"Um, I listen to the Arctic Monkeys, the 1975-"

"You would like the 1975."

"What? Why?" Harry asked. 

"You seem like one of those hipster types, with your tight jeans and boots. I'll bet you liked them before they were popular."

"Well, I mean..."

"I knew it!" Louis laughed. "You're totally that hipster! The 'I knew them before they went mainstream' kind of guys."

"Shut up. So what if I am? You gonna hold that against me?"

"I don't know, I might."

"Well, what bands do you listen to?" Harry wondered.

"Uhh, I like The Fray, The Script-"

"You would like The Fray."

"What does that mean?" Louis challenged.

"I'll bet you even learned how to play  _Look After You_  on the piano or something like that."

"So what if I did?"

"Oh my God!" Harry exclaimed. "Did you really?"

"What? It's a great song," Louis defended himself. 

By now, they were almost at the lake. Harry let out a loud whistle to no one in particular, it seemed.

All of a sudden, Louis saw a little blonde head pop up from the grass.

"Finally! I was starting to fall asleep!" 

"Niall? You're in on this, too?" Louis inquired.

"Don't forget about me."

Stan stood up from his spot next to Niall and stretched.

"You weren't kidding when you said everybody was involved, were you?" Louis asked Harry, noticing a dark blanket on the ground. 

The younger boy just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Anyway," Niall started. "Here's the remote. Speakers are right there. Bring them back with you when you're finished. I need them, you know."

"Speakers for what?" Louis wondered, although none of the other boys were paying him any mind. 

"Perfect. Appreciate it," Harry thanked.

"See you guys later." Niall winked at Louis, and he and Stan walked off, leaving Harry and Louis alone. 

Harry pointed the remote in his hand at the small set of speakers on the grass that had an iPod hooked up to them.

Unsurprisingly, The Fray started playing. 

"What? No  _Look After You_ or  _How to Save a Life_?" 

"It's a playlist. Those songs will be up eventually."

"Right, of course." Louis rolled his eyes.

They lay down on the blanket then, still warm from where Niall and Stan were laying on it, and looked up at the darkened sky. 

They remained there for a little while, listening to the music playing softly in the background and just talking. About everything - favorite classes, plans for Spring Break, movies they wanted to see, where they wanted to be in 10 years.

"In ten years, I want to be a columnist for a big newspaper.  _The Philadelphia Inquirer,_ maybe. Or hell, I'll dream big.  _The New York Times._ "

"New York City, huh?" Harry asked slyly. "You like New York?"

Louis smiled at his date. "It's not such a bad city, I guess."

"Interesting."

"Well where will you be in ten years, then?"

"I don't know, really. I think I'd like to be a big name photographer, have my own gallery, that sort of thing. Make people cower in fear when I enter a room."

"You'll never make anyone cower in fear." Louis laughed loudly. "Not with those dimples, I'm afraid."

Harry pouted for a second before laughing along. 

"I could totally see you working for some nonprofit organization or something."

"What?" Harry scoffed.

"No, think about it. We could be like this powerful super couple or something. Like, you could take all the photos of the events that we host and of us doing good for the world, and I'll write articles praising the organization and all the good it's doing, blah blah blah. We can totally make it work."

"That would be nice, I guess. As long as it's about something important, like saving the rainforest or something."

"You would want to save the rainforest."

"Stop saying ' _You would_...'" Harry laughed, lightly elbowing Louis in the side. "I'm starting to think you don't absolutely love all of my hipster-like qualities."

Louis elbowed Harry back, smiling fondly at the younger boy. "So you admit you're a hipster?"

"I said no such thing. I have hipster-like qualities. Pay attention."

"That's so hipster. Not even realizing you're hipster. Next you're gonna tell me you've been known to rock a fedora once or twice."

Harry was silent before responding to that one. "Well..."

"You own a fedora?" Louis exclaimed. " _You would_  own a fedora."

Harry groaned before covering his eyes with one of his hands.

"I'm learning so much about you, Harry," Louis whispered in the younger boy's ear. "But I like it."

Harry then felt a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, and bit his lower lip to keep himself from squealing with delight at the contact. 

When the playlist ended, Harry sat up and grabbed the iPod and speakers from the ground.

"Come on," he told Louis, reaching an arm down to help him up.

"Date number three?" Louis guessed as he rolled up the blanket.

"You would be correct. Wait. I almost forgot." He stopped walking and turned to the blue-eyed boy.

"Louis, I hope you had as amazing of a time as I did."

"I think I enjoyed it way more than you did, Harry. You're such a great date," Louis cooed. 

"Are you free for dinner? I know a place that's really close by."

"Absolutely! When?"

"Uhh... Now?" Harry suggested with a smile. 

"Sounds perfect."

"Great," Harry leaned down and pressed his lips softly to Louis'.

"OK,  _now_  time for date number three." 

And they started walking again. 

"Where are we going now?"

"Your place," as they neared the building. 

Louis followed Harry into the apartment.  _His_ apartment. But by this point, he was done asking questions.

They walked in, the door of course being unlocked, and set the speakers and Niall's iPod on the counter. 

"Zayn!" Harry called out. 

Zayn, Perrie and Josh emerged from the living room. 

"Hey boss, food's all ready for you. We even washed the extra pots for you and put them away. You know, considering they're ours."

"Appreciate it, guys, thank you for everything."

The three of them made to leave, with Perrie giving Louis a quick hug and Zayn shooting him a wink as they walked out.

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked.

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Thought you might say that. Anyway, I figured that by the time we had our third date, I would be cooking for you. So, dinner it is."

Harry walked up to the counter and served Louis his meal. "Chicken parmesan over spaghetti noodles. Anything to drink?"

"Beer, I suppose. I'm not sure what we actually have here," Louis admitted, unable to remember the last time they'd gone food shopping. 

Harry nodded, and grabbed two bottles from the fridge. 

The boys walked out to the living room and grabbed seats around the coffee table, like they usually would.

"Harry, this is amazing," Louis complimented after taking his first bite. "Where did you even cook this?"

"Josh's apartment. I was there earlier, and he drove me and the food over at 5, so we wouldn't run into you. When I went to meet you in the office, he brought the food up here and Zayn and Perrie got it all set up for us."

"I knew I saw Josh in his car before!" Louis exclaimed. "I thought I was seeing things. I guess he was just waiting for me to be inside the building."

"Yeah, that was him. Good thing you didn't go up to the car to see him, otherwise you would've ruined the surprise."

"Yeah, lucky me." Louis smiled.

Seriously. How did he get so lucky to get the beautiful boy in front of him?

They ate the rest of their dinner in a comfortable silence. Louis had trouble thinking of anything else to say when he had this gourmet meal in his face.

The boys cleaned up their plates when they were finished. Louis washed, and Harry dried. 

They returned to the living room, where they settled onto the couch, Louis snuggling into Harry.

"Thank you for doing this. You don't know how much this meant to me," he whispered.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Harry replied. "Am I officially forgiven for being such an idiot?"

"Well, you're still an idiot." Louis poked Harry in his side, causing the younger boy to slightly squirm away from him. "But you're absolutely forgiven."

Louis leaned up and kissed Harry softly on his lips. Cupping the side of his face, he slid his tongue along Harry's lower lip and sighed when Harry parted his lips, letting Louis in. He tilted his head a little and deepened the kiss, letting his tongue slowly explore the familiar territory. 

When they pulled apart, Louis leaned his forehead against Harry's, smiling slightly.

"Louis, can I confess to you the real reason I picked three dates?" Harry asked quietly. 

"Yeah, of course."

"Well, I figured that three dates would be enough, because then you would see how I really cared about you. Even though these weren't real dates. If they were real, they would've been longer, and not combined into one night."

Louis nodded and smiled. "Right."

"But, I thought that after being on three dates, we would've worked together for like, two weeks? Three? And we would know a lot about each other, and this wouldn't be awkward when I asked."

"Asked what?" Louis wondered, biting his lower lip in anticipation. 

"Louis Tomlinson..." Harry looked down at his lap. He took a deep breath. He looked back up and quickly steeled his resolve, however, because he then asked, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Louis felt all of the air leave his body in a split second, because this was it. The actual question Louis had wanted to hear since the day he first saw Harry walk in the office last year.

Blinking quickly to hold back his tears, because  _why the fuck was he about to cry?,_ Louis said, "Yes."

Harry's eyebrows rose up so far they almost reached his hairline, while his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. 

"Really?"

"Yes, Harry. You think I'm going to let you do all of this planning and put in all of this work and still turn you down? I want to be with you, too."

It felt like the weight of the world was finally lifted from Louis' chest as he admitted that.

And then Harry's hand was on the back of Louis' neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss. Louis wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, leaning into the kiss and trying not to freak out that he had a boyfriend now. 

The moment was soon broken by a ringing in Harry's pocket.

The boys pulled apart, breathing heavy as Harry took it out to read a message.

He rolled his eyes, and walked toward the front door, yanking it open. Waiting there were all of their coworkers, apparently eager to hear how the evening went.

"Well?" Zayn asked immediately.

Harry turned to Louis and gave him a wink before looking back at his friends. 

"He said yes!" he yelled, and Louis was overwhelmed by the amount of shrieking and hollering that quickly filled his ear. All eleven of them rushed into the apartment, congratulating the new happy couple.

"I can't believe I ever fell in with you saps," Louis tried to insult his friends, but that was ruined by the obvious adoration in his voice. 

"You love us, admit it," Niall replied, wrapping Louis in a hug.

"Yeah, I kind of do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Favorite chapter. All I'm saying.  
> Also, the story's not over! You know you want to keep reading to find out how everything ends up!


	27. What Happens Next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to thank you guys for getting me past 5,000 hits! Like, way past it, actually. I got more than 500 hits with just the last chapter, which blows my mind.  
> When I first started writing this story, 5K was my personal goal. And I've already hit that and the story isn't even finished.  
> So thank you!!  
> Anyway, I struggled all week trying to figure out how to follow up the last chapter, because let's face it, how do you follow up the start of a Larry relationship?  
> But, here we go. Hope it doesn't suck.

"OK, I have to know how you guys pulled that off," Louis asked once everyone had settled down in the apartment.

"You act like a group of journalists couldn't pull off a successful stakeout," Eleanor pretended to be offended.

"Oh, so this was a stakeout? I feel so honored."

"I thought it was?" Josh guessed. "I mean, I did watch you from my car."

"Yeah, but you weren't that smooth about it. I totally saw you."

Josh just shrugged. "Whatever. It still didn't ruin the surprise."

"Yeah, I guess. But seriously, how did you guys do it? There's so many of you."

"Alright, I'll start," Harry jumped in. "I already told you, I spent the day cooking dinner at Josh's apartment. Then he drove me over at like, 5 something. We dropped the food off first, and then I went into the building at 5:20, where I waited with-"

"Us!" Jade exclaimed excitedly. "Liam, Jesy, Harry and I waited until Josh texted us saying you were in the building. We were hiding in the stairwell, actually."

"After we got the text," Jesy continued, "Harry walked into the office, and Liam, Jade and I brought the projector and stuff into the hallway to wait until he called for us."

"And we texted Leigh-Anne to be waiting outside in about 45 minutes for when you guys were done watching the movie and talking and whatnot," Liam finished.

"And then I saw you waiting in the kitchen as we left the office," Louis said.

"Right," Leigh-Anne stated. "After I dropped you off, I stayed parked outside of Dani and El's building and waited for them to come downstairs, and the three of us went and parked my car and walked to the office to wait with the others."

"OK, I'm following so far," Louis said. 

"Once we were done bowling, I texted Niall to let him know we were leaving," Harry revealed.

"Stan and I left the apartment to wait out by the lake about fifteen minutes after I got that text. Good timing, too, because you guys showed up not even five minutes later," Niall announced with a smile.

"The playlist Harry made was exactly 28 minutes and 7 seconds," Stan said. "So we went to the office and Niall texted Zayn to have the food ready in 30 minutes for when you guys got to the apartment."

"This is nuts," Louis breathed. 

"Who are you telling?" Zayn wondered. "Anyway, after you guys came in, we waited downstairs, and told everybody else to join us. We figured 45 minutes would be enough time for you guys to eat and talk or whatever."

"So after 45 minutes, we went upstairs and waited in the hallway," Perrie announced. "Can you imagine 11 people waiting outside in a hallway without speaking? It was torture."

"And I couldn't wait anymore after that, so I texted Harry asking how everything was going," Dani concluded. "Then he opened the door and told us and here we are."

_Holy shit. That was a lot of planning._

"I can't believe you guys did all that. Like, you gave up your whole night for this."

"Of course, Lou. We love you," Eleanor smiled.

"And it was fun as hell," Niall added. "Keeping a secret from you. But, you have no idea how hard it was to go all weekend without telling you anything."

"Even yesterday at the meeting was tough, watching you guys be all awkward next to each other," Dani confessed. "I didn't like it one bit."

" _You_ didn't like it?" Harry smirked. "Try being me. I sat next to Louis knowing I would ask him to be my boyfriend in 24 hours. I think I zoned out during that meeting more than he did."

"And that's saying something," Liam laughed.

"Hey, I'm right here," Louis tried to keep a straight face, but failed.

"Still true, Louis," Zayn winked. 

\---

Harry spent the night at Louis' apartment that night, of course, where Louis rewarded him with the best "Thank you for everything, I loved the entire night" blow job he could've asked for. 

Unlike the last time Harry woke up next to Louis, the younger boy had no feelings of guilt, suffocation or pain. In fact, he had never felt better about the start of a relationship before, because this is how he and Louis should've been from the beginning.

He looked at the boy sleeping next to him and thought about how fortunate he was that the plan had worked, that Louis had agreed to a do-over. And now Louis was his boyfriend. His freshman year self would never have believed it. 

A few minutes later, Louis slowly opened his eyes and found Harry still smiling down at him. 

"Good morning," he breathed out. 

"Very good morning," Harry confirmed, his voice raspy from just waking up. 

 _Fuck, if that's not the sexiest thing I've ever heard,_ Louis thought to himself. 

"Boyfriend," Harry said in his sleepy voice.

 _No,_ that's  _the sexiest thing I've ever heard._

"Say that again," Louis requested. 

"Boyfriend." 

Harry leaned in and kissed Louis then. 

"Boyfriend." He kissed him again. 

"Boyfriend." He kissed him once more before Louis wove his fingers into Harry's curls, holding him there as he licked his way past Harry's now parted lips. 

They lay there, lazily kissing, until Louis pulled back, with his nose wrinkled up.

"What's the face?" Harry asked, a slight smile on his face.

"You have morning breath," Louis said seriously.

Harry responded by surging forward, planting wet, sloppy kisses all over Louis' face and neck, loving the quiet giggles coming from his boyfriend.

"You love it, boyfriend," Harry smiled at the older boy.

Louis pretended to ponder it for a minute. "Hmm... I guess I do. I know I love calling you boyfriend, though. Can we tell everybody? Can I write your name all over my notebooks and change my Facebook status?"

Harry bit his lower lip. "Um, not yet. I have to do one more thing first."

"What's that?"

"Um... I have to talk to Jake."

"Oh." Louis shifted back a little bit.

"It's just," Harry started, "I want to be the one to tell him about us, instead of him seeing it online. He's still my friend, we just haven't actually been on speaking terms lately."

"At all?"

Harry shook his head. "Not since..."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, I feel like such a dick."

"No, I understand. If the roles were reversed, I would want to do the same thing. Just let me know how it goes, I guess?"

Harry nodded, leaning in and kissing Louis on his forehead.

"Shit, is that the time?" Harry asked, looking at the clock on Louis' desk. "Fuck, I have class in an hour."

He jumped off the bed and started looking for his clothes, since he had slept in only his boxers.

"At least stay for breakfast? I can drive you to your dorm if you need to go and get books or something."

"As long as I don't have to cook it," Harry grinned.

"No promises," Louis smirked, getting out of bed, as well. 

\---

Harry had two classes back to back, so by the time he got back to his room, it was after eleven. He gathered his stuff and walked down to the bathroom to get a shower, thinking about when he should start working on the study guide for next week's history midterm.

When he got done in the shower, he walked back to his room and entered it to find Jake back from class, as well, sitting at his desk.

"Hey," Harry ventured, getting only a grunt in response.

He dressed quietly, giving up on his hair after only a few minutes.

He looked over at his roommate, who was reading through a textbook, outlining part of a chapter. 

A minute later, Jake turned in his seat to look back at Harry. "Did you need something?"

"Can we talk?"

"About?"

"Louis."

Once Harry said that, he watched as Jake stiffened and pursed his lips.

"What about him?" Jake asked, letting out a deep breath.

"Um... Well, we-"

"What? You're official?"

Harry just nodded his head.

"Great. Congratulations."

Jake turned back to his desk. 

"Jake, come on," Harry pleaded. 

"Why are you telling me this? Do you want like, my blessing or something?"

"No, I just wanted you to hear it from me first. I didn't want it to just come out of nowhere for you."

"Great. Thanks. Appreciate it."

Harry sighed, guessing this was how their relationship was going to be for the remainder of the year.

"You know what?" Jake exclaimed suddenly, slamming his book shut. He turned back to look at Harry with an expression of anger across his face. "You're an idiot."

Harry wasn't expecting to hear that.

"And you're a dick."

That one was more expected, though.

"I just don't understand you. You like a guy and you let your roommate go out with him after you tell the roommate that he has a chance. Meanwhile, you're dating someone else, someone who you then have problems with, and the guy you like tells you to try to make the relationship work. So you then make the relationship work, and yet you still like this other guy who you've walked in on hooking up with your roommate. Not just once, either, a couple times. Which just makes you feel like shit. And yet, you still never say anything. What kind of situation did you insist on creating?"

"I don't know," Harry responded. "I just-"

"How long have you liked Louis? Honestly?"

"Honestly? Since last year."

"Last year? I can't-"

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan. 

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized. "I just didn't think that you would like him like that. Hell, I never even thought you guys would meet. It was such a fluke that you did at all."

"I just don't get it. Like, I'm not even mad at you for liking Louis or wanting to be with him. I'm really not. I understand that; he's an amazing guy. But just, how could you not say anything? You let me go around all that time thinking that he was available."

"He _was_ available!"

"No he wasn't," Jake cried. "Not if you liked him all that time. And he reciprocated those feelings. Even while the two of us were together."

"You don't know that. I mean, yeah, I liked him all that time; but the first chance I had to make a move, he shot me down. Didn't even give it a second thought; just said no. Then I had Aiden and you guys got together, and everything was good. At first."

"So you thought your feelings would go away with the snap of your fingers? Feelings don't work that way, Harry. You don't just  _unlike_ somebody. Not when the feelings are real, anyway."

"I know," Harry said, leaning back against his bed. "I just, really hoped that they would. It probably would've been a lot easier."

"Sure it would've been easier, but it wasn't what you really wanted; was it?"

Harry shook his head. "Not at all."

"And what is it that you want?"

"I want to be with Louis," Harry answered immediately. 

"Now was that so hard?" Jake asked. "Should've told me that back in October, would've saved us all a whole lot of hurt, you asshole."

"I know that, and I'm sorry."

"I know you are. I know you're not that person. Just, damn. Be more honest with me next time. You're one of my oldest college friends, I thought we were better than that."

"We are. And we will be, I promise."

"Good, because, housing selection is coming up, and I wasn't sure what was going on for that."

"Shit, housing selection," Harry swore. "I completely forgot."

"Yeah, it's the week we get back from spring break. Do you still want to be my roommate? I didn't know if you did," Jake confessed.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, if you still want to be my roommate."

Jake nodded. 

Harry smiled. "Cool. We should try for an apartment, since we'll be upperclassmen next year."

"Hell yeah, I'm all about it," Jake grinned. "Have our own rooms, won't have your 'just woke up' bed head being the first thing I see when I get up."

"Shut up," Harry threw his pillow at him. "At least I won't have to smell you when you first get up, because... Ugh."

"What's wrong with me when I first get up?"

"All I'm saying is, you must have some kind of gas problem, because  _my god._ " 

The boys were laughing then, tension finally fully dissolved.

The smile on Jake's face dropped a second later. "Oh, listen, dude. You know I'm happy for you and Louis, now that you got your issues and shit resolved, but you need to tell him, that when you guys are," he raised his eyebrows suggestively, "you know, that he needs to be quiet. Because I'm not trying to hear him through the walls of wherever we end up living."

Harry's jaw dropped before he squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face with his hand. 

"Can't believe you just said that."

"Harry, I'm just saying. Your boy is loud."

The editor pulled his hand away from his face to see Jake biting his lower lip, trying to keep from laughing. 

"How is he, anyway?" Jake wondered.

"He's good. You can ask him that yourself, you know. He'd love to hear from you. He does feel bad about how everything went down."

Jake shrugged. "I guess. Maybe."

A moment of silence passed before Harry broke it.

"I'm glad we're friends again," he admitted.

Jake furrowed his brow at that. "We were always friends. I just wanted to punch you in the gut for a little while there."

"I don't have a gut!"

"Meh," Jake teased, looking Harry up and down.

"Fuck off. Just because I don't spend all my time in the gym like you and Liam-"

"Yeah, what is with that dude? Is he like, the Hulk or something?"

"Seems like it. Just don't make him mad. That's my warning to you."

"You pissed him off?" 

"Yeah, feared for my life, too," Harry confessed.

"I'll keep that in mind, then. But yo, can we eat? I'm _starving_."

"Yes, let's go," Harry turned to find his sneakers.

"I mean, it's only dining hall food; we don't have a fancy kitchen to make something in."

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'll survive."

\---

A few hours later, before Harry went to work, he debated whether he should talk to Aiden or not. He was glad he cleared the air with Jake and now everything was resolved. But he didn't think Aiden would be as responsive. In fact, he  _knew_ he wouldn't be.

Before he shut down his computer for the day, he went on Facebook to see what Aiden had been up to lately, as he hadn't noticed any updates from him in a while.

Surprisingly, he found that he had been deleted. Where all of Aiden's information should have been was just a blank screen, and in the corner, was a green bubble that said "Add Friend."

_Well that takes care of that problem, then._

So that night in the office, when Louis sent him a request to be "in a relationship," Harry wasted no time in accepting. 

It was official. 

 **"Harry Styles** is now in a relationship with  **Louis Tomlinson."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a little shorter than usual, but I just felt weird about leaving loose ends. This chapter was more to set up the rest of the story anyway. Sadly, I've been having to think about how to end the story, because that does have to happen eventually.  
> Right now, I'm thinking it'll end around 35 chapters. But who knows? Could be less, could be more. We'll see how it goes. It all depends on what feels right.


	28. Snow Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so since this story's based in my home state of New Jersey (in case I never actually said that, now you know), I figured I should include some snow, since NJ has been attacked by it every few weeks for the past couple months.  
> I may have have exaggerated it a little bit for the fun of the story, but I'm sure you guys won't mind. =)

"It's fucking March!" Louis bellowed as he looked out his bedroom window on Thursday morning.

"Shut up, Louis!" he heard Liam call from the living room.

Louis turned and walked out of his room to find his roommate.

"I will not shut up, Liam! It's snowing outside! In March!"

"Will you relax, Lou? It's barely flurrying. It won't stick."

"Doesn't matter!" Louis exclaimed. "It's snowing. That should not be happening. It's almost officially spring!" 

"The news stations have been calling for snow all week, haven't you been paying attention?"

"Sure, I've heard it, but they've also been saying it would snow all winter, and it never did. Why would they be right now?"

Liam sighed as he laced up his boots. 

"It's not supposed to be that bad, anyway. Just a few inches or so. It'll probably be gone by the morning."

"So it's not even going to get us out of classes? Then why bother snowing?"

"I don't know, Louis. Maybe someone pissed off Mother Nature. At least we didn't get the amount of snow we had last year."

"Ugh. That was a mess," Louis shuddered at the memory of the blizzard his campus was hit with last winter: almost a foot of snow in less than 24 hours. Digging his car out two days later, when the parking lots were finally plowed, had been a real treat.

"Exactly. So be happy that it's just flurries. We'll be all right."

"Fine," Louis grunted. "As long as I don't slip on any ice."

Niall came stumbling out of his room then.

"Are classes cancelled?" he yawned.

"No, Niall," Liam answered with a sigh.

The blonde boy nodded. "Then why the fuck is it snowing?" He turned and walked back to his room.

"My point, exactly!" Louis called after him.

\---

The snow stopped around an hour later, and like Liam said, the small flurries didn't stick. But then it started up again around four, and it came back with a vengeance. With every fallen inch, Louis continued to get more and more annoyed.

"Why do you hate the snow so much?" Harry asked that night at the office.

"It's not that I  _hate_ the snow," Louis started, propping his feet up on Harry's desk. "It's just that I only like the snow if it's helping me out. Getting me out of classes, out of work, out of having to be a real adult, that sort of thing. This snow isn't doing any of that."

"I guess," Harry shrugged. "But the snow is so pretty. When it first falls, anyway."

"Yeah, it is. I remember when I was younger, my sisters and I would get into these epic snowball fights. Like, I used to use the twins as shields from Lottie and Fizzy. They always wanted to go against me, and they never won. Amateurs."

"You used them as shields? Seriously?"

"What? They thought it was funny. And I hated getting snow down my jacket, which always happened."

"Mean older brother," Harry scolded. 

"Am not."

"Are, too."

"Am not!"

"Are, too!"

Their discussion on Louis' meanness level was interrupted by the sound of their cell phones going off, along with the sounds of eight other cell phones alerting the students that they had a new text message.

Louis took his phone out and read aloud, "Due to the inclement weather, all classes at Taylor University will be cancelled tomorrow, Friday, March 7."

"How bad is the snow?" Harry asked, looking at his phone screen.

"Holy shit!" the boys heard Niall yell from the main office. They went out to see what the fuss was about.

"Oh my God," Louis echoed, seeing that Niall had pulled up the blinds on the window by the Sports desk.

As the office was in the basement, the windows allowed the editors to see only about two feet above ground outside. The outside of the window was already covered in snow by about a third of the way.

"You've got to be kidding," Dani muttered. 

"How long have we been in here?" Eleanor wondered. 

It was just after 9:00, and while Louis had finished his pages already, he had just wanted to hang around the office for a little while more. He was starting to regret that decision. 

"Seriously," Perrie agreed. "There was like, two inches on the ground when we went to get dinner. And that was at 5." 

"I can't drive home in this," Josh whispered to Niall. 

"You're not," Niall shook his head. "You're definitely staying over tonight."

"Alright, everyone, let's just try to hurry up and get out of here, OK?" Liam declared to the editors. "Louis, you should head out. El, Josh, Niall, we're almost done with your sections, so you should be done soon. Perrie, Leigh-Anne, Stan, keep working, you'll be out of here as soon as possible."

Louis just nodded and turned to shut down his computer and grab his stuff.

Before he left, he went into Harry's office, where the younger boy was sitting back in his chair.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Harry asked.

"Unless you want to come over tonight," Louis suggested. "I plan on having a few drinks since I don't have to wake up early tomorrow. If you want to, of course. You're more than welcome to trek all the way across campus to your dorm room."

"No, your idea sounds way better," Harry smiled. "I'll walk over with Liam when we're all finished."

"Kay." Louis leaned in to kiss his boyfriend goodbye. "See you in a little while, then."

He turned and left the office, telling Liam not to work too late. 

"Have a good night, everyone!" Louis called and he walked out, smiling as the rest of the staff echoed the sentiment.

He tried not to scream like a little girl when he pushed open the door to get outside and his feet were buried in snow.

Luckily, he didn't have a far walk to make.

\---

"Alright, I'm going to bed," Zayn announced at 1 am that night. "To the couples in the apartment, for the love of God, do not be too loud tonight. I actually plan on catching up on some sleep."

"No promises, Z." Louis winked. 

"Especially you two," Zayn pointed between Louis and Harry. "I share a wall with you, Louis. Just... be quiet."

He turned and left the room then. Niall and Josh soon retreated to Niall's room, and Liam went to his room a few minutes later.

"I already know how loud you are, though," Harry smirked as he leaned in and started kissing Louis' neck. 

"Do you now?" Louis smiled. 

"Yeah, I do. It's fucking hot, too."

Louis turned his head and kissed Harry's lips, pushing back against him so that Harry was on his back across the couch, and Louis was on top of him.

"I'm not that loud, am I?" Louis wondered. 

"You kind of are," Harry said as he leaned up, joining their lips again. 

Louis hummed when he pulled back. "Wanna see how quiet I can be?"

"With you, I don't think that's possible," Harry scoffed. 

"Is that a challenge, Mr. Styles?"

"If it gets me laid tonight, it can be whatever the fuck you want it to be."

"Well why are we still on this couch, then? Let's go."

The two of them stumbled off the couch, turning off the lights in the living room as they moved into Louis' bedroom. 

The older boy immediately went to one of the drawers under his bed and pulled out his lube and a condom, tossing them on his bed.

The second he turned around, Harry was on him, his hands moving up and down Louis' sides and back.

He started kissing him roughly, and after a minute, bent down and grabbed Louis around his thighs, lifting him onto the bed. 

Louis pulled away, sucking along Harry's jawline, and ending at that special spot just below his ear. 

Harry let out a soft moan, as Louis expected. 

Before Louis could leave a mark, Harry was stepping back to take his shirt and jeans off, motioning for Louis to do the same. Once he did, Harry got on the bed and slotted himself between Louis' legs.

The boys resumed kissing, and Harry didn't hesitate to lick his way into the older boy's mouth, swirling his tongue all around the inside.

Louis reached down to palm Harry through his boxers, grinning when he felt how hard Harry already was.

Harry swatted Louis' hands away and moved to strip Louis of his own boxers. He quickly lubed up three fingers and touched one to Louis' rim, lightly massaging before pressing in with it.

Louis shut his eyes and leaned his head back, feeling the familiar sensation that he so enjoyed. 

Soon, Harry was pressing a second finger in and waited for the nod from Louis before pushing in a third. He started to scissor his fingers to stretch Louis out as much as he could, because even though Louis wanted to be quiet, Harry wasn't planning on letting that happen. 

He started to thrust in and out and watched as Louis bit his lower lip.

When Harry curled his fingers, he grazed Louis' prostate and smiled as the older boy arched his back off the mattress, letting out a quiet moan.

"Harry, I'm ready," Louis breathed out. 

He gently pulled his fingers out and Louis leaned up to yank Harry's boxers off, giving his dick a few strokes once he did so he could roll the condom on.

Harry bent down, lining himself up with Louis. Kissing his boyfriend hard on the mouth, he gently eased his way in, moving slowly until he was completely inside.

While he waited for Louis to adjust, he reached between them and gave Louis' cock a few gentle rubs.

"You're doing good, babe," Harry complimented. "Maybe you do know how to be quiet."

Louis let out a low giggle. "You wouldn't believe how much concentration it's taking."

"Is that so?"

Before Louis could answer, Harry pulled out a few inches and slid back in. 

"You're being mean," Louis said, letting out a couple of deep breaths. 

"Yeah?" Harry pulled back again, this time farther, and thrusted back into his boyfriend.

He smirked when Louis let out another moan.

"How about now?" Harry started an easy pace now, grinding his hips back and forth as Louis wrapped his legs around him, hooking his ankles behind Harry's back.

"Is that all you got?" Louis challenged, making eye contact with Harry and holding it.

Harry didn't respond, instead pulling out all the way to the tip and slamming back in. 

Louis let out a grunt, biting his lip again to keep himself from doing any more. 

The younger boy repeated what he just did, not holding back anymore. He pounded quickly into Louis, aiming right for his prostate. Soon, the room was filled with sounds of slapping skin and heavy breathing.

Louis threw his head back, and Harry swooped in, sucking along the base of his neck. 

Louis started to whimper, and Harry sucked even harder, leaving a dark bruise behind. When he blew on the mark, Louis let out a deep moan. 

"There you go, babe, let it out."

Louis groaned again, and Harry continued his pace. 

"Fuck, I'm gonna come," Louis cried out.

"Yeah? You gonna scream out my name like you usually do? Gonna let the guys know just how loud you are?"

Louis shook his head, breathing heavy. 

"You sure about that?" 

Harry reached his arm down and started jerking Louis off in time with his thrusts. 

Louis started whimpering again, until he reached his breaking point.

He came, hard.

"Harry, fuck!" he cried out at the top of his lungs.

His legs dropped from around Harry's waist as the younger boy continued his movements. A minute later, Harry was coming, too. 

As they rode out their orgasms, they heard a pounding on Louis' wall.

"You dicks! I told you to be quiet!" 

It was Zayn, and he was yelling at them through the wall that he and Louis shared.

"Sorry! Love you, Zayn!" Louis called out.

"Fuck you!" Zayn yelled back.

"I already did," Harry joked.

Louis rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

Didn't stop him from laughing with his boyfriend, though. 

\---

The next morning, Niall rolled over and almost fell out of his bed. 

Wondering why there was no room, he looked toward the wall and suddenly remembered that Josh had slept over.

_Oh right. The snow._

He jumped out of bed to look out his window. With the view he found, it seemed more like January, not March. Snow covered every inch of campus. It had stopped at some point during the night, or even this morning, as it was already after 10. 

He listened out toward the rest of the apartment, and, hearing someone in the kitchen, slipped quietly out of the room to see if anybody was cooking.

"Should've known it would be you," he said, seeing Harry standing behind the stove in just his boxers. 

"What else do I ever do in this apartment?" Harry asked jokingly as he flipped a pancake.

"Hey, don't let me stop you. You cook so well, I can't complain."

"You know what, I'm glad you're up. I had to ask you something, anyway."

"Uh-oh, this can't be good. The last time you had to ask me something, it sort of led to you having issues with your boyfriend and then breaking up with him."

"And that was a good thing, Niall." Harry smiled. "And this isn't anything big, I was just wondering something."

"Oh, OK. Shoot."

"Um, next year, what are you doing-"

"Guys!" 

Harry was interrupted when Liam burst into the kitchen.

"Yes, Liam?" Niall asked. He looked over to Harry to see the curly-haired boy mouthing ' _Later.'_

Niall nodded, turning his attention to his roommate.

"I just texted Perrie and Dani. They're digging their way out of their dorms and they're coming over."

"For...?" Harry wondered.

"A snowball fight. A couple's snowball fight. It'll be epic."

"Did someone say snowball fight?" Louis asked, dragging himself into the kitchen. 

"Hi," Harry said sweetly.

"Hi back," Louis responded. He walked up to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind, resting his cheek against Harry's shoulder blade.

"Yes, a couple's snowball fight. Perrie and Dani are coming as soon as they can get out here."

Louis nodded, yawning loudly. "Sounds cool. We're eating first, though, right?"

"Definitely. Food has to happen," Niall agreed.

"Cool," Liam beamed. "I'll let Zayn and Josh know what's up. Then I'll come help you cook, Harry."

Liam rushed out of the room like a kid on Christmas.

"You would think someone just told him he wouldn't have to pay back his student loans." Louis laughed.

"Seriously. Although it will be fun to get out in the snow. Might as well make some use of the day off," Niall stated.

Two hours later, the eight of them found themselves out by the soccer fields, where a large area of snow covered ground provided the perfect spot for a snowball fight. 

"I say Roommates against boyfriends and girlfriends," Liam suggested for the teams.

"Works for me," Louis smirked at Harry. 

"What are the rules?" Zayn asked, winking at Perrie.

"No snow to the face," Josh suggested.

"No dog piles," Harry added.

"Make sure there's no ice in the snowballs you throw," Dani said. 

"Don't shove snow down any clothes?" Louis requested. 

"Have fun!" Niall exclaimed.

"Cheesy," Perrie muttered.

"On that note..." Louis said. He bent down and packed up a snowball between his glove-covered hands and launched it right at Harry's chest. 

The younger boy glanced at the snow across his torso before looking back up with a grin.

"It's so on," he declared, forming a snowball and hurling it right back. 

From then on, it was an all out war. Snowballs flew through the air and boyfriends were tackled to the ground. 

"Not the hair!" Zayn yelled out as Perrie pushed him down and shoved snow to the top of his head. 

"We said no snow to the face. Nobody mentioned hair!" she replied.

Louis laughed when Dani jumped on Liam's back, trying to knock him over, but instead, he just spun in a few circles trying to swing her off. As a result, he got dizzy and they both tumbled to the ground, clutching their stomachs because they were laughing so hard. 

Niall and Josh were pelting each other, in a silent competition to see who could throw the biggest snowball. As Louis grabbed a handful of snow to help out his roommate, he felt a hand drop snow down the back of his coat.

"Son of a bitch!" Louis yelled out as an intense feeling of cold slid down his spine. "That's against the rules!"

"Is it?" Harry batted his eyelashes innocently. "Must've forgotten. Sorry."

"You're fucking dead," Louis threatened, taking off after his boyfriend.

After more than an hour of fighting and attempting to build snowmen - key word: attempting - the group called it a day. 

"Wait, we have to take a group selfie, like at the Oscars," Louis demanded. "Harry, you've got monkey arms, take the picture."

Harry rolled his eyes at the comparison. "You could've just said I have long arms, Lou."

"Yeah, I could've, but monkey arms was funnier."

Louis flashed a wide grin at his boyfriend before kissing him on the cheek. "Please?"

Harry smiled back and took out his phone, switching the camera to the front. "Alright, whatever. Squeeze in, everybody."

He waited while everyone stood next to his or her significant other. He angled the camera down to get everybody's faces in the frame, impressed that he managed to avoid cutting anyone out. 

"Alright, smile," he instructed and quickly snapped the picture. 

"Perfect."

\---

The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully, as the weather reached highs of 50 degrees, effectively melting most of the snow. If it weren't for the picture Harry took, Louis wouldn't have believed that the campus was shut down on Friday. 

But life went on. At least, that was what he told himself as he sat at the office on Monday afternoon. Today was the day. The day when the senior editors announced who they had chosen to replace them in the fall. 

Louis was confident with his choice, but it didn't stop him from feeling nervous. This made it all real - that he really wouldn't be here in September. He wouldn't be packing up to move back the last week of August. He wouldn't be just a few minutes away from Harry.

He tried not to let the last one get to him too much, as Liam started the meeting.

"Alright, before we go over stories for the week, we're just going to go through and say who is taking over your position next semester. I'll start, and we'll just go down the line," Liam explained.

"Obviously, I asked Dani to be Executive Editor next year, and she accepted."

Dani beamed at the decision. "And I chose Eleanor to be Managing Editor next year."

 _All right, looking good so far,_ Louis thought to himself.

"News? Stan, who'll be joining Leigh-Anne next year?"

"Well, we actually picked together," Stan said, "and we chose Damien Hurley. He's a sophomore this year, and he's been writing for News since the end of last year. He's gotten a lot better since his freshman year, and we both think he'll be strong in the position."

Liam nodded. "Alright, great. El? Who's taking your spot?"

"KJ Bennett," she responded. "He's actually a freshman this year, but he's been writing consistently for me, and he usually pitched his own ideas."

"Good. Perrie?"

"Tyler Anderson," she replied. "He's a freshman, too, but he's a really good writer. He has a lot of energy and he's always up for taking criticism. And he always asks for help when he needs it. I think he'll fit in well."

Liam nodded again. "Lou?"

He froze then, because  _oh my God_ was he really about to say that someone would be taking his job? And that he was OK with it? He'd held the position for three years now, and he was just expected to hand it over like it was no big deal?

Liam furrowed his brow. "Lou?" he repeated.

How could Liam be so calm? He'd been on staff as long as Louis has been. And he was going to be leaving, too. Did Liam feel like he was going to throw up? Because Louis definitely did.

"Babe," Harry whispered in his ear, nudging Louis' leg with his own.

He snapped out of it then and attempted to pull himself together. 

"Um, Cher. Lloyd. She'll be a junior next year, and she's been one of my most active writers since she started here."

"Good," Liam said, watching him with worried eyes. "Josh? How about you?"

"Casey Callahan," Josh answered. "Niall and I think she'll do really well. She's a freshman. She's been writing for us all year, and she used to play soccer and softball in high school, so she has experience playing sports, as well, which is a huge bonus."

"Excellent," Liam praised. "Let them know that they should make plans to start coming to 4:30 meetings if they don't have class, and definitely Wednesday and Thursday nights. At first, it only needs to be a little while, but the last two or three weeks of the semester, tell them they need to be here every minute that you are here. Unless they have class or another job at that time, in which case, you'll need to work out times to work together efficiently."

He waited until the seniors agreed to this. 

Louis didn't miss the glance Liam gave him, and pretended not to see the stares Harry and Niall were shooting him, as well.

"Well then, let's run through the articles we have for the week after spring break."

The newspaper didn't actually have an issue that week. It didn't make sense to, since the campus closed down on Friday afternoon for the break. No one would pick up an issue right before they went home for a week, and by the time students came back, anything in the paper would be irrelevant. 

"Let's start at the top," Liam said. "News, you're up."

\---

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked as he and Louis sat in his room that night after the meeting. 

"Talk about what?" Louis responded, picking at a loose thread on his comforter.

Harry rolled his eyes. He knew something was bothering Louis, and it had to do with the new staff changes. Louis didn't do well with change; Harry already knew that. But he was worried about his boyfriend's reaction to naming the new Opinion Editor.

"Your mini panic attack at the meeting a little while ago. Are you OK?"

Louis shrugged. "I'm fine. It's just, too real."

"What is?"

"I don't know, just... I realized that I wouldn’t be the Opinion Editor any more. That's been a part of me for three years, and now it's just over. Like, I don't know what I'm going to do now that I'm not an editor."

"Oh, Louis..."

"No, don't feel bad." Louis shook his head. "I just freaked out. Like, I'm really graduating in May. And I won't be going to the office three days a week and seeing everybody all the time. No more classes, no more practice articles, no more being in charge of a group of eager writers who are trying to bulk up their portfolios."

"Stop it," Harry scolded gently. "You've been working so hard for this. You're going to graduate with a degree in something you love, something you've wanted to do since you were a kid. You've already got a job waiting for you, because of how amazing you are."

"My mom's boyfriend knew a guy-"

"And you wouldn't have gotten hired if you didn't rock your interview and have the skills to prove yourself. You're ready to move on, Louis. You would drive yourself crazy if you tried to stay in college forever. You have everything that you need. Now it's time to go out and show the world what you're made of."

Louis smiled at the pep talk Harry was giving him.

"That's not all, though."

"What else is there?" Harry was confused now.

"No more you," Louis said sadly. 

"You mean no more being on the same campus. Trust me, I've already thought about that. Back when we were fighting and you hated me."

"I never hated you."

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you did, though. But just because we're not on the same campus doesn't mean I'm giving up. I already told you, I'm all in. And I mean it. We worked too damn hard for this, and being one hour apart or two hours apart doesn't and will never change the fact that I want to be with you. OK?"

Louis nodded his head.

"Now, stop worrying so much about all of that. We still have 7 weeks until the end of the semester. And we're going to enjoy that."

Harry leaned in and placed a kiss on his boyfriend's soft lips. 

When Harry pulled away a moment later, Louis pressed their foreheads together, his frown now replaced with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take it back. This story will probably be closer to 40 chapters. Because I have this insane need to drag everything out, as you guys have probably noticed. Plus, I just don't want to be done with this story, lol.  
> I still have a couple things to take care of, because the more I've been thinking about it, the more I want to do a sequel to this story. Although I might do a prequel first. I don't know if any of you guys would read either one. Hopefully you will. But we'll see. As usual, it depends on what I feel like doing.


	29. Six Weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking forever with this! Just... Life gets in the way sometimes. And I got hit with Writer's Block. Again. You might not believe this, but I actually write a lot of this story as I go along, so it gets tough sometimes.  
> Anyway, here we go. I wrote this all last night, so I'm pretty proud of how fast I got my shit together. Haha.

On Friday afternoon, Harry got out of his last class of the day a little early. It was almost 11, and his academic adviser had called him in for an 'urgent' meeting. What couldn't wait until after Spring Break was beyond him.

He still had to get back to his room and pack. His stepdad Robin was coming to pick him up at 2, so he hoped this meeting wouldn't run too long.

As he entered the Fine Arts building and walked up the stairs to get to the advisers' offices, he thought that this might be about his schedule for next semester.

In a cruel twist of fate, housing selection and course selection had been scheduled for the same week. Meaning, Harry would be extra panicky for a few days once he returned to campus, nervous about not getting the apartment he wanted or the classes he needed to graduate. 

Speaking of which, he still needed to talk to Niall.

He got to the second floor and passed through the metal double doors out of the stairwell. Turning left, he walked down a hallway with doors on either side until he got to the one he wanted.

He knocked and entered when he heard a cheery female voice telling him to come in.

"Hi, Ms. Sanderson, how are you?" he greeted.

"Fine, Harry, come on in," she answered.

He sat down in the chair next to her desk and dropped his book bag on the floor, waiting for her to start talking. 

"Harry, I'll get right to it. I'm sure you're eager to head home for Spring Break, right?"

"Yeah, a little bit," he responded honestly.

"Well, then, are you aware that you only have 18 classes left until you complete your degree?"

He nodded. When he first started at Taylor, his AP credits had transferred to college credits, meaning he was already two classes ahead of typical second-semester sophomores.

"I do. I thought I would take five classes each semester next year, and then take four classes each semester senior year."

He already had all of this planned out, and was seriously looking forward to his lighter course load in his last year. 

"That's a good plan, Harry. But, did you look up summer courses at all?"

"No, I hadn't given them much thought, to be honest."

"Well you might want to. I did some digging. And one of the courses that you still need to take is being offered this summer in the second session. If you take that course over the summer, then you would only have 17 classes left. And with only 17 classes left, it wouldn't make much sense to stay on campus for four more semesters."

"Wait, Ms. Sanderson. What are you saying?"

"Harry," she started, "I'm saying that you could graduate a semester early. If you're willing to work for it, of course."

"Graduate early?" he whispered.

He'd never thought about that possibility. He always thought he would finish in four years, like everyone else. He knew that he was ahead in his classes, but it never clicked that he could maybe leave before everyone else in his year.

"Yes. If you took the course this summer, then you could take six classes for two semesters, and five classes in a third. _Or_ , you can take six classes for one semester, five classes the other two semesters, and another class next summer. _Or_ you could take two classes next summer, and then take five classes each semester for three more semesters."

Harry nodded his head, absorbing all of the information.

"Now, you still have two electives left. So, you can take your required course this summer and take an elective next summer. Then you could still take another elective to cut yourself a break during the semester that you overload, if you do overload. Which just means, taking six courses instead of the regular five. And if you decide to do that, come see me and let me know, because I have to sign off on it."

Harry's head was spinning at all of this. 

"You don't have to," Ms. Sanderson said, sensing his hesitation. "It will be a lot, and it's more than you've certainly planned for. But it's an option, and I just wanted you to be aware of it."

"Right," Harry nodded. "Well, thank you."

"Absolutely. Don't wait too long, though. The deadline to enroll for the summer class is April 1. So, a week after we get back from Spring Break. Last I checked, there were still about ten seats left."

"Oh, OK."

"Just in case you need it, I printed out a list of the classes you still need to graduate. And I starred the one that's offered this summer. It's just another writing course, nothing too complicated."

"Thank you," he replied, taking the paperwork from her.

"Do you have any questions, Harry?" she smiled at him.

He shook his head. "I don't think so. This is just a lot to process right now, to be honest."

"I understand. If you need to talk to me about it, my door's always open. And feel free to email me if you need to talk over break, alright?"

"Yes, um... Thank you. Again." he stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Have a good break, Harry," she said.

"Thanks. You, too."

\---

"So what have you guys been up to?" Liam asked.

It was Monday afternoon, and Zayn had invited him and Louis over to his uncle's house to play pool. Well, Zayn and Liam were playing pool, and Louis was going to play the winner.

"Nothing, really," Louis answered. "I took the twins to the aquarium yesterday. And I haven't slept past eight yet, as much as I've tried."

"Too used to waking up early?" Liam wondered.

"No, it's just too noisy. The girls are just always up at weird hours, and my mom apparently doesn't believe in sleeping in anymore. She was vacuuming the other day at seven in the morning! Who does that?"

"That's just taking mean to a whole new level," Zayn said as he lined up his shot. "I'm glad I could stay here over break. My uncle's off scouting some high school kid. Apparently he's God's gift to the basketball court or something. Whatever."

"So you've been sleeping til noon every day, I take it?" Liam inquired as he watched Zayn sink the ball in the corner pocket.

"Something like that."

"Anything else?"

"Well, I have been applying to some art galleries," Zayn added, lining up his next shot. "I submitted two applications yesterday."

"That's great, Z," Louis said.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I also thought about looking into fall or winter internships, too, just in case the whole 'working right after graduation' thing doesn't work out."

He sunk the next shot, too.

"You'll hear something, Zayn," Liam assured. "Even if it's something small."

"That's all I need, really." Zayn sighed. "Something small. Even part time would be great. I just want to be doing something I'm going to care about, not like, retail or something."

"I hear you on that one," Liam agreed, finally getting a turn when Zayn missed his next shot.

"Well, you have some options, too, Liam," Louis stated. "You can apply to newspapers around here, or even look into New York magazines if you want to commute."

"I know I have options, it's just a lot to think about. Do I want to move? Do I want to live in the city? How am I going to afford anything if I move to the city? Do I get a roommate? How is that going to work out? It's just a little overwhelming."

Louis was starting to feel a little guilty, since he didn't have to worry about applying for jobs any more. So, he chose to just stay silent in this conversation.

"Plus, now I have to worry about training all the new editors next week when we get back to school, and I just wish I didn't have to."

"Yeah, what do you think about the newbies?" Louis asked, grateful for the subject change.

Liam shrugged, lining up another shot. "From what I've seen, it looks like we have a couple of good choices. The girl Casey, that Niall and Josh chose has been pretty consistent with her articles. And Louis, Cher seems like she'll be a good fit. She seems a lot like you, actually."

Louis nodded. "I think she is. She's pretty outgoing, doesn't really hold back when it comes to giving her opinion. I'll make sure to tell her to learn how to gauge a situation, though, so she doesn't get herself in trouble."

"Definitely," Liam agreed, missing the shot. "As for the guys? The kid Damien that's gonna be in News, he's a really cool guy. Kind of quiet. He's been writing for News since he was a freshman, so I think he'll get the hang of it quickly. And the other two guys, I honestly can't tell apart. Tyler and KJ? Like, one has blonde hair and the other has light brown hair. But, they kind of look similar, and they always sit together. But Tyler seems kind of cocky, like, super full of himself. Or maybe that's KJ..."

Louis scoffed. "It's going to be an interesting staff next year, to say the least."

"Glad, I won't be around to see it." Zayn smiled.

Louis sighed. "I would say the same, but I'll have to hear all about it if there's any staff drama."

"Same here," Liam admitted.

"Never been happier that Perrie and I are both graduating." Zayn shot the eight ball into a side pocket. "And that's game. Louis, rack 'em up."

\---

Harry browsed the aisles of his supermarket, trying to figure out what he wanted to cook for dinner that night. 

His mom had called him from work about an hour ago and asked him to make dinner because she found out she would be home late. So, he jumped in his car and drove over. 

 _I miss this car,_ he thought to himself while he was driving.

He knew he could have his car on campus, but he'd almost never used it last year, so he just didn't see the point in bringing it again this year and paying the fee for the parking tags. It would just be a waste.

When he got close to the deli section, he smiled at the thought of making the meal that he had taught Louis to make.

After he placed the roast beef in his cart, he heard his phone going off in his pocket.

"Hey babe," he said, seeing Louis was calling him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just seeing what you're doing. I'm bored, and I miss you."

"Miss you, too. But don't worry; it's already Thursday. We'll be back on campus on Sunday."

"That doesn't help. I haven't seen you in almost a week. I'm going through Curly withdrawal."

"Well, they do say that absence makes the heart grow fonder." Harry smiled as he guided his cart toward the vegetables.

"Who's 'they'? And why do they have to say things that I don't like?"

"I don't know who 'they' is. Probably a group of old men trying to make young, adorable couples like us feel better about being apart."

"I guess." Louis sighed. "I still miss you, though."

"I still miss you, too. Anything new to report since I talked to you? You know, last night?"

"Not at all. The girls are still ridiculously loud for no reason. No idea where they got that from."

Harry smirked. "Yeah, no idea who they might take after."  

"Anyway..." Louis chose to ignore the remark. "The twins keep bugging me to go back to the aquarium. We just went like, four days ago! The fish haven't changed since then."

"They're just glad to have you back. And that's sweet, you should be happy they love you that much."

"I know. They like me more than Fizzy and Lottie do. Those two just ask me for rides to the mall after school to see their friends. And Lottie has a boyfriend now; it's disgusting. He's some seventeen-year-old football player. Seems alright, but... Ughh."

"Your sister's growing up? Didn't realize that would happen." Harry laughed, turning to find the mashed potatoes.

"Shut up. You don't have any younger sisters; you don't understand."

"No, I just had an older sister, but I still get it. I was the man of the house when Gemma started dating. So obviously, I was a complete dick to all the guys she ever brought over."

"Wish I could've seen that. An angry looking, curly-haired kid whose voice probably still cracked because he hadn't hit puberty."

"Now it's your turn to shut up." Harry grinned. 

"Well anything new for you to report since yesterday?"

"Nope, not really. I just keep going over my schedule for next semester, making sure I'm OK with it."

"Can't believe you're overloading next semester. You're gonna be so stressed out, babe."

"I know, but usually the fall semester is easier than the spring semester. And it'll all be worth it when I can graduate a semester early. It'll save me so much money in student loans. I'm already not looking forward to paying all of that back."

He checked his cart to make sure he didn't need anything else for dinner.

" _You're_ not looking forward to paying back student loans?" Louis asked. "At least yours don't start before this year is up."

"Yeah, you got me there, I guess." 

Harry heard a beeping on his phone and saw that Niall was also calling him.

"Baby, I gotta go. Niall's calling me."

"Niall? Everything OK?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I just have to talk to him about something for next year."

"Oh, all right. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Harry said, before switching over to the Irishman.

"Hey, Niall!" he greeted.

"Harry, just wanted to let you know everything is set for September."

"You filled out all of the paperwork correctly and everything?"

"Yup, I just printed it out from the school website. I'll submit it on Monday when we go back."

"Alright, cool. Who's the fourth, again?"

"His name's Xander Bradley. Short for Alexander, but people usually call him Xander or X. He's a cool dude. We've known each other since our freshman year. I was actually gonna go with just him if I didn't go with you and Jake, too."

"Well four's a better number than two, let's be honest," Harry said.

"It is. We're gonna have a sick year next year, man."

"I can't wait, honestly. Finally get to be an upperclassman."

"And I get to be a senior! Time to put my drinking limits to the test."

"Like you've ever had drinking limits," Harry scoffed.

"That's true. Anyway, I gotta go. Mom's calling me. We're having a family dinner for my dad's birthday. But I'll see you later. You coming over to the apartment on Sunday when we get back?"

"Yeah, probably," Harry replied.

"All right, cool. See you then."

\---

On Sunday, Liam packed up his car for what would be the end of his final Spring Break as a college student. And since Liam usually didn't go home on weekends, even though he lived twenty minutes away, this could be the last time he ever came back to campus on a Sunday afternoon after spending the weekend away. 

After he said goodbye to his parents and his sisters, he got in the car and made the familiar drive back to Taylor. He couldn't stop himself from thinking of everything he still had to get done before the end of the semester. He had to begin training the new editors, make sure Dani was comfortable taking lead in the meetings, confirm that his application for graduation had been received and accepted, ask Higgins, Teasdale and two of his other professors to write him letters of recommendation, begin thinking of any ideas for his final articles that were sure to be announced soon, and on top of all that, attempt to have a social life and spend time with his roommates and girlfriend before they were all separated. 

With a list like that, Liam didn't know how he was going to keep his sanity. 

He thought back to the last meeting before the break, when Louis froze up when the suggestion of his replacement came up. He didn't tell his roommate, but he had been feeling the same way lately. 

Being an editor was such a big part of him, he wasn't sure what he was going to do with himself when he stepped down from his position. It's not that he didn't trust Dani to keep the paper running, or trust the other editors to keep working as hard as they have been all year, but it was just... hard to let go. 

There were only six weeks left until the end of the semester. And then, a week of finals, and that was it. Four years of college, just done. He'd be walking up on a stage to get a diploma, and then boom. He was a real adult.

With real responsibilities.

Who had to find a real job. 

However, that also meant that there were six weeks left to have fun with his friends. To spend time with his girlfriend and have time to relax. Because all of the training of the new editors brought about more free time for Liam and the other graduating seniors. 

Liam chose to focus on that aspect of graduating as best as he could. 

He soon got back to campus and parked as close to the building as possible. He grabbed his computer case, telling himself he would come back for the rest of his stuff later. 

He went up the elevator, and as soon as he stepped out, he heard music and a lot of familiar voices shouting about running.

He entered the apartment to find a small party already formed. 

Harry and Louis were playing each other in FIFA, and everybody seemed to be cheering Harry on. It seemed that the younger boy was actually about to score a goal on Louis, which was a rare occurrence, to put it nicely.

Zayn, Niall and Josh all stood around the couch, encouraging Harry to keep running with the ball and to shoot it. Liam looked at the determination on Harry's face, almost laughing when he saw him staring, completely focused on the TV, with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. Louis, meanwhile, looked completely relaxed, with a small smile on his face.

Liam watched as Louis quickly glanced at his boyfriend, and then "accidentally" hit the wrong button, and his goalie moved the opposite way, letting Harry score the goal.

"YES!" Harry yelled, getting to his feet. "I scored! I did it! I did it!"

"In your face, Tommo!" Niall bragged as if he was the one who got the point.

Louis just sat on the couch, pretending to be ashamed, but Liam smiled since he knew the truth.

"Oi!" Liam yelled out, getting the attention of the other boys. "What's going on here?"

"I scored a point on Louis!" Harry cheered, raising two fists in the air. 

"It was pretty epic, man," Josh added. "You should've seen it. Harry was playing like a man on fire."

"I'm very proud of you, babe," Louis congratulated, smiling up at him.

"Thanks." Harry bent down and kissed Louis quickly on the lips.

"Oh, Perrie and Dani are on the way over, Li," Zayn said. "What do you think? Pizza and beer to welcome everybody back?"

"Can't think of a better way to kick off the rest of this semester," Liam answered.

Six weeks. Time to make the most of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to thank you guys for reading. Again!  
> The story got almost 750 hits after I posted the last chapter. You guys shock me with every post, you're so awesome.  
> Sometimes I really can't believe how well this story is doing.  
> Glad you're liking it! =)


	30. New Additions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I actually made it 30 chapters and you guys are still with me. You rock!  
> Anyway, you're gonna be introduced to new characters in this one. Hopefully you like them!

"All right, welcome back, everybody!"

Liam called the meeting to order on Monday afternoon. 

"As you can see, our attendance has grown by five. Casey, Cher, Damien, KJ and Tyler, welcome to the staff. It's great to have you here."

The five new editors thanked Liam and smiled at the rest of the group. 

"I hate to put you on the spot here-"

He ignored Louis' scoff and continued what he was saying.

"But before we start going over this week's issue, we're just going to go around the table and the five of you can introduce yourselves."

He looked to his left, and Cher was the first one up.

"Hi, I'm Cher Lloyd." She waved to the table before nodding her head at Louis.

"I'm taking over the Opinion section from Louis here. I'm from Staten Island, if you couldn't tell from my accent."

She joined in with the rest of the editors as they quietly laughed. 

"I'm a sophomore and I'm studying editorial journalism. Hopefully one day I can write for a magazine. Preferably some kind of entertainment or fashion magazine."

"Cool," Dani said, taking the lead from Liam. She looked further down the table, to Cher's left. "Damien?"

"I'm Damien Hurley, and I'm also a sophomore. But most people just call me Hurley."

Louis took in this boy's appearance. He wore a black T-shirt and black jeans, his charcoal book bag lying slumped at his feet. But Louis then noticed that the boy looked tired. No, tired wasn't the word. Exhausted or drained would've worked better. Maybe he had another job. Or he was overloading. 

 _Oh God,_ Louis thought to himself.  _Is that what Harry will look like next semester when he takes six classes?_

"I'm a local. I live not even five minutes from here, so I'm a commuter. I'm going to be the second News editor next year, along with Leigh-Anne. I'm studying communications, on the Radio/TV track. I want to host my own radio show after I graduate. Not sure what kind yet - I have a lot of interests - but we'll see how it all plays out."

Up next was Casey. And wow, it was like this girl had just inhaled a Starbucks. And not just one coffee, either. Like, the entire Starbucks.

"Hi! I'm Casey Callahan!"

Her long blonde hair bobbed as she said her name, her light blue eyes twinkling.

Louis noticed how Josh had to hide his smirk. Probably because her enthusiasm was a lot to take at once.

"I'm a freshman this year, and I'm actually going to be the new Sports editor with Niall. And I know that I come across as the peppy cheerleader type. I've heard it from pretty much everyone I've ever met. But I'm tougher than I look. I went to a D1 school in Connecticut, and played soccer and softball for three years. Unfortunately, I was in a car accident at the start of my senior year, effectively taking all athletic scholarships off the table, because I didn't play either sport that year. I kind of lost my will to play. But it's OK, because now I'm studying communications, also on the Radio/TV track. I would love to be a sports commentator for ESPN in a few years."

Louis took back his comment. He had a new level of respect for this girl after hearing her story.

"I'm Tyler Anderson, I’m a freshman and I'm taking over the Entertainment position from Perrie."

Louis already knew he didn't like this guy. Exactly like Liam said, this guy seemed full of himself in just the way he introduced himself. 

He didn’t like how much gel was in this guy’s blonde hair. It just didn’t look natural for an eighteen-year-old.

"I'm from Washington, D.C. Born and raised. I’m a Public Relations major-“

_Shocker._

“-And who knows? Maybe one day I’ll be an agent for some big name celebrity. We’ll see.”

The final newbie was KJ.

“My name’s KJ Bennett, and I’m a freshman, too. I’m actually from Baltimore and I’ll be the new Features editor, now that El’s moving up.”

Louis didn’t understand why Liam thought that KJ and Tyler hung out. They didn’t seem that similar at all. KJ seemed pretty laid back, not at all arrogant like Tyler.

“I’m also studying editorial journalism. I’d like to work for a big magazine one day, like  _People Magazine._ Feature stories are my strength, so I think I’d use that best at a magazine like that.”

“Well, all right.” Dani nodded. “Welcome, again, to the five of you. So what we usually do on Mondays is run through the layout of this week’s issue of the paper. Editors ask questions if they have any, and we help answer those questions if we can. And it’s the first place that you can get feedback on potential articles. We start with News, then go to Features, Entertainment, Opinion and finally, Sports.”

As usual, Louis and Harry started playing a game of tic-tac-toe.

Once Louis had gone through his articles, with Cher easily picking up on the kind of articles required to fill the section, he sat back and listened to Niall, and now Casey, go through the Sports articles.

Harry started to prepare a game of hangman for the two of them to play. Louis stole a quick glance at him, smiling at how deep in thought the younger boy looked.

It seemed, though, Louis wasn’t the only one looking at Harry. When Louis pulled his gaze away, he looked across the table and caught the new blonde one staring at Harry with a small smirk on his face. Louis knew that look well. It was the look Louis used to give Harry months ago, when Harry first started working on the paper and was all Louis would think about.

He didn’t like that look on someone else’s face. He cleared his throat to catch the attention of the blonde one. Tyler, was it? He looked over at Louis then, and instead of looking embarrassed about being caught, he gave Louis a once-over before looking away, smirk growing bigger.

Louis couldn’t believe this guy. Harry was spoken for, and Tyler shouldn’t be looking at him like that.

And who did he think he was, judging Louis like that? He didn’t know anything about him.

 _Dick,_ Louis thought to himself.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t much better.

\---

On Tuesday, it was the day that Harry had been waiting for for the past week and a half. It was the day he could pick his classes for the next semester. Earlier that day, he turned in his registration forms to take his summer class, and his adviser had cleared him to take six classes. Now he just had to sign up for those classes to get him one step closer to graduating early. 

Now, it was 4:26, and Harry had four minutes to wait until he was able to arrange his schedule. 

"You seem a little tense, babe. You sure you OK?"

His class had let out late, so he ran to Louis' apartment to use his computer instead of to his own dorm room because it was closer. He was starting to regret that decision.

"Louis..." he sighed as his boyfriend kissed up his neck. 

The two of them sat on Louis' bed in his room, computer open to the school website.

Louis ignored Harry's plea and continued placing kisses.

Harry tried to pretend it wasn't happening, and started typing in the codes for the classes he wanted to take.

Now it was 4:27.

Louis started sucking a mark into Harry's neck and let out a soft moan. 

_Bastard._

Louis knew what his moans did to Harry. The jerk was doing it on purpose.

Harry attempted to ignore the swelling he felt in his jeans.

4:28.

Louis moved up the side of Harry's jaw, ending at the spot behind his ear. And he lingered there, winding Harry up.

4:29.

"Louis, please," Harry breathed. He was trying to watch the clock, but damn it, Louis was making that difficult. 

"Hmm?" Louis smirked. "Something wrong? I'm not distracting you from anything, am I?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "You better let me use this computer in 30 seconds or so help me, God..."

"You'll be fine," Louis dipped his hand under the hem of Harry's T-shirt, where he lightly walked his fingers up Harry's abs and chest. 

Harry closed his eyes at the touch for just a second, and when he opened them, it was 4:30.

"Shit!" he swore loudly, clicking the Submit button on the computer.

A notification popped up, warning him not to click Submit again or hit the backspace button on the keyboard, as there was a lot of traffic on the page.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only another minute, another page loads. 

 _Congratulations!_ It read.

He skimmed the page, which just showed him a grid with his new schedule on it. He got all six classes that he registered for, and now had a busy as all hell semester to look forward to.

He breathed a sigh of relief and shut the computer, setting it on the bed next to him. 

"Thank God that's over."

"Seriously," Louis agreed.

Then he was pushing Harry back on the bed, unzipping Harry's jeans and pulling them down to his ankles.

"After all that teasing you just did, you better follow through," Harry joked, as Louis pulled down his boxers, as well.

"Will do." Louis grinned. He then licked a long stripe up the underside of Harry's cock. When he got to the tip, Louis took Harry into his mouth without hesitation.

Harry kept himself leaning up on his elbows, watching as Louis bobbed up and down, wrapping his tongue around Harry as he moved. He loved watching the stretch of Louis' thin pink lips over Harry's dick as he tilted his head to the side, changing up his angle. Seeing himself go in and out of Louis' mouth was such a turn-on. Even though it didn't seem like he needed it, since he was so turned on already from all of Louis' teasing before.

Louis picked up his speed, wrapping his hand around the part of Harry's cock that his mouth couldn't take. He pumped in time to the pace that he was already going.

"Fuck, Lou, I'm so close already..."

Harry dropped his head back for a second before realizing something.

His gaze shot up past Louis toward the door, which was still open.

_Shit._

The door was open. Zayn, Liam and Niall were all home, too. They could literally walk by at any second and see them.

And fuck, if that wasn't the hottest thing yet.

"Your door's open, Louis. Your roommates could walk by and see you blowing me right now."

Louis brought his eyes up to Harry's. That information didn't seem to bother him, as he just raised his eyebrows suggestively. 

Harry quickly felt that familiar feeling in his abdomen.

Too soon, he had to warn, "Lou, I'm gonna-"

Louis hollowed out his cheeks and kept up his pace, waiting.

And then, Harry was coming down Louis' throat, biting down on his fist to attempt to keep his moan from getting out and alerting the other boys of what was going on.

Louis sucked Harry dry, drinking down every drop of him. When he was done, he pulled Harry's boxers and jeans up, tucking him away as if nothing happened.

Harry smiled as Louis kissed him, letting Harry get a taste of himself.

"If that's how you respond to me picking classes, what are you gonna do after I go to housing selection on Saturday?"

Louis furrowed his brow.

"Who said that had anything to do with you? Maybe I just had an exhibitionist kink to cross off my bucket list?"

Harry laughed. "So you're just using me for my body?"

Louis shrugged. "Yeah, didn't you know?"

"You're such a dick."

"Well, they do say you are what you eat."

Harry groaned at that. "All right, that's it. You're not allowed to talk any more for the rest of the day. Just stop."

\---

On Wednesday afternoon, Louis sat at his desk waiting for Cher to come in. She just texted him saying she had to run back to her dorm and then she would be there in about fifteen minutes.

"Hey, babe," he heard from behind him.

He turned to see Harry just strolling in.

"There you are. I was starting to think you weren't coming in."

"Yeah, right," Harry scoffed. "I had to take pictures for that photo gallery the art department is premiering tomorrow night. Took longer than I thought."

"Were they any good?"

"Decent. Not the best, but I've definitely seen worse."

Harry leaned down to kiss Louis on his lips.

"Hi," he said when they pulled apart. "Want to go out this weekend? Dinner and a movie or something?"

"Sounds good," Louis agreed. "What's even playing, though?"

"Not sure, but we'll figure something out." Harry shrugged.

"Hey, Harry," a deep voice greeted from behind them. 

Louis turned to see Tyler walking up to the Entertainment desk, that look back in his eyes.

"Hey," Harry greeted easily. "Tyler, right? First day of training?"

"That's right. And yeah, I'm just waiting for Perrie to get back from the bathroom. Can't wait to see how the section is all created."

Louis pursed his lips, noticing that Tyler was completely ignoring him. Lovely. 

"Yeah, well Perrie's great. She'll teach you well, don't worry."

"I'm looking forward to learning about a lot of things around here." Tyler smirked.

"Right..." Harry looked a little confused at Tyler's tone. He could be so adorably naive sometimes. "Anyway, I gotta get to work. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya, Harry," Tyler said.

Harry nodded at the new editor and winked at Louis before walking into his office.

Louis looked at Tyler then, forcing a smile at him.

"Hey, Luke, right?" Tyler grinned.

Louis blinked. Seriously, who did this guy think he was?

He pulled out his phone and texted Harry then.

 **_Louis: Don't ask questions. But get out here right now and kiss me like you mean it._ **

Not even sixty seconds later, Harry came out of his office and looked at Louis with a hunger in his eyes. 

Bending down, he braced one hand against the back of Louis' chair and wrapped the other around the back of Louis' neck, pulling him in. 

He connected their lips roughly, and without hesitation, slid his tongue into Louis' mouth. Louis responded by holding Harry's face firmly to his, letting out a quiet moan. 

After a moment, now realizing they had an additional audience judging by the few catcalls heard around the office, the boys pulled apart.

They smiled at each other, and then leaned back in one more time.

And Harry walked away again, giving Louis another wink as he returned to his office.

Louis didn't even turn to look to see if Tyler had seen it. He could feel the dark glares burning into the back of his head as he went back to what he was working on.

\---

Zayn sighed. "Louis, stop shaking your leg." 

It was Saturday afternoon. He, Louis and Liam were trying to find something to watch while they waited to hear back from Harry and Niall about how housing selection was going.

"I just want him to get the apartment he wants, that's all," Louis explained. "He's gonna have a hard enough year as it next, I at least don't want him to have to deal with living in a dorm, too."

"He'll be fine. They all will. They have good numbers, they're sure to have a high enough combined number to get an apartment. Stop worrying."

It was already after 4 o'clock, and selection for apartments started at 2. So far, Harry hadn't texted Louis. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. 

"Did you text him and ask what was going on?" Liam wondered.

"I did, but he hasn't responded yet. So maybe they're still waiting for their number to get picked?"

Zayn shrugged. "He'll let us know what happens as soon as anything does. Niall will, too, for that matter."

"I guess."

A few minutes later, Niall and Harry burst into the apartment, followed by Jake and a fourth guy with blonde hair.

"We got it!" Niall yelled, waving their housing slip in the air. 

"You got an apartment?" Louis shouted back, jumping to his feet.

"Second floor, South Side building. It's official! No more dorm food for me!" Harry couldn't contain his excitement.

"Congratulations," Louis said, pulling Harry into a hug. 

"Can't believe you guys are gonna be living together," Liam said. 

"Oh, speaking of which, guys, this is Xander, he's our fourth," Niall introduced the other guy.

"Hey, what's up?" Xander asked, lingering behind Jake.

"How you doing?" Zayn, Louis and Liam greeted.

"Well this calls for a celebration, I think," Louis started. "Pizza tonight?"

The group murmured in agreement. 

"But first, beer," Louis said. "I'll go grab some from the kitchen. Everybody wants one, right?"

He looked over at Jake, who was giving him a shy smile.

"You want to help me?" he quietly asked the younger boy.

Jake nodded, and the two of them walked into the kitchen, getting away from Harry and Niall's talk of how they would decorate their apartment in the fall.

"Hey, Louis, listen..." Jake started once they were alone.

"No, let me go first. I'm sorry. About everything. I never should've led you on like that or treated you that way. And, I never meant to end things with you like that, either."

"It's OK; I mean, it sucked at first, because I just didn't realize you even liked Harry that way. I wish I did, otherwise I never would've done anything."

"But I should have told you that I liked him. I hope you don't still think I was only using you to hurt him or make him jealous or anything, because I wasn't. I was just-"

"Trying to get over him. Yeah, I figured. Harry was sort of along the same lines with Aiden."

Louis smiled. "Yeah, I know. I'm just... Really glad that this didn't drive a wedge between you guys or any bullshit like that. I would never forgive myself if I broke up your friendship."

"It's cool. We're all good. I mean, the two of us were never exclusive, and Harry's one of my best friends here. And besides, Harry seems a lot happier with you than he did with Aiden, so how can I really be mad at that?"

"OK. Thanks, Jake."

"You're welcome. But I am sorry about everything that I said to you back then. I was a dick. Guess you did know who you wanted to be with."

Louis nodded. "I probably would've said the same things to me if the situation was reversed. I'm just sorry we all wasted our time."

"As long as you guys are happy, and I'm happy and Aiden's OK, then I wouldn't call it wasted time."

"Yeah, I guess not."

The boys were silent for a minute, not sure how to end this conversation.

"Can I hug you, though?" Jake asked, breaking the silence. "I feel like we should have one last hug or something to even this all out."

"Absolutely."

Louis wrapped his arms around the taller boy, smiling to himself that everything could be resolved.

"Hey, where's that beer?" Niall called from the living room.

The boys pulled apart, laughing to themselves.

"That's gonna be your roommate next year. Hope you're prepared," Louis said as he opened the fridge.

"I know. And I think I am, but if you see a story on the news about how a little Leprechaun is missing from Taylor University, you know why."

Louis laughed, and the boys walked out to the living room holding the beers.

"So, Xander, what's your story?" he asked once he sat down next to Harry.

"Nothing to tell, really," Xander said, taking a sip from his bottle. "My real name's Alexander, but everyone calls me Xander. I've lived in Philly my whole life, live with my parents and two younger sisters. I'm studying advertising, and you already know I'll be a senior next year. Oh, and I first met Niall in our freshman year history class, and we've known each other ever since. And we're in the same boat this year. I live with three seniors, so we had the same problem."

"Well nice to meet you, man," Liam stated genuinely. 

"Thanks. Should be a good year next year, right?" Xander raised his eyebrows at his new roommates. 

"Better be," Harry laughed.

Louis wrapped his arm around Harry's waist, pulling him closer. He was starting to miss his boyfriend already.


	31. Alone Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All fluffy Larry. And a little smut, but whatever.

The next few weeks were both the slowest and fastest of Louis' life. 

He started to feel like he was constantly rushing; like he had no time to get everything done before his upcoming deadline of May 2, the last day of the semester. Every second he was at the office, he was training Cher, trying to teach her everything that he had learned in three years. Louis wouldn't admit that he had a bit of a perfectionist attitude when it came to the Opinion section. 

OK, he could totally admit it, but he was not as bad as Liam. At all.

Cher did want to do everything well, but had a more laid back attitude when it came to completing the pages. Louis was fine with that, but it was just a little frustrating to watch her do something wrong when he had just showed her what to do. Not that he expected her to be perfect already, but it was tough to accept that he had to let her do the work even though he was sitting right there and could finish it quicker.

When it came to classes, it felt like there was not enough time to complete his assignments. His senior project was slowly coming together, but Louis knew his professor would like it to come together a little faster. The topic was about the influence that gay television characters had on people's perception of gay people in real life. He knew it was a topic that plenty of other college kids had done before, but he was beyond caring about that factor.

His other classes still insisted on giving meaningless assignments, as if his professors didn't know that senior projects were due in less than three weeks. Louis had hoped that by now, his classes would require more in-depth projects to prepare him for life after college, since that would be upon him in a month. Don't get him wrong, he didn't want a lot of extra work, but he was getting bored of doing work that didn't seem like it had a point other than a grade.

With all of this to think about, it was no surprise that Louis was eager for the semester to end. He had caught senioritis a long time ago, and now that Harry had helped him get his fears of graduation out of the way, he was ready to move on. Honestly.

It was on a Wednesday night in early April when Harry and Louis were laying on Louis' bed that the younger boy suggested that the two of them go into the office late next Wednesday, and just hang out for a little while beforehand. 

Louis had been... apprehensive about that, to say the least.

"Why would I go in late on a Wednesday? Who will start the pages? And do layout? And print out the stories? And think of headlines?"

"Cher can do that, right?" Harry asked.

"Cher?" 

"Yes, Cher, the person you're training to be the new Opinion Editor? You told her how to do all of that stuff, right?"

"Well yeah, of course. But-"

"And you let her do all of that while you hovered over her shoulder, didn't you? I know you did, I saw you do it tonight."

"Yeah..."

"So give her some time to play around with it for a little while, and try to do it by herself. She'll have to do it all the time next year."

"I know that, but-"

"And Liam will be there to help her out if she needs it. Or Dani, or any of the other editors can show her how to start the pages. Plus, you left her plenty of notes in the past two weeks that you've been training her. She'll be fine."

"See, you're making a lot of sense, but-"

"But nothing. Next Wednesday, we'll both go into the office a little late. We'll hang out here, grab dinner, and then go over. I'll even edit all of the photos that I can ahead of time."

Instead of responding, he snuggled his face into Harry's chest, smiling when he felt Harry wrapping his arms around him, pulling him close.

"I guess it makes sense," Louis mumbled. "Cher will have to do it all on her own soon."

"We'll go in right after dinner, I promise. So we'll be in the office no later than 6. That's not even three hours later than when you would normally go in, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. And if anything is wrong, I can just fix it when I get there."

"Well don't be rude about it. Don't go in yelling, 'Wrong! All wrong!'"

"No promises." Louis laughed.

"And besides," Harry started, "in three weeks, you won't even be allowed in the office."

Louis shot up, breaking out of Harry's arms, choosing to smack him on one instead.

"Ow!" Harry yelped. "What was that for?"

"Why would you remind me of that? I was actually on board with your stupid plan, and I don't think I am anymore. I should be in the office all that I can be. I don't have much time left."

The last week of the semester, all graduating editors were banned from the office in order to let the new editors fly solo. Louis remembered it last year when Sandy and Ed were graduating, and he hated it then. He didn't like the changes that were unwanted, but of course, necessary. It was only worse now that he would be one of the banned editors. The week of April 28 had sad faces drawn in on the pages of Louis' planner. April 30 and May 1, the Wednesday and Thursday of that week had the most, as those were production nights, the nights that he should be with his coworkers. Instead, he would probably be pacing his apartment, waiting for something to go wrong.

"Stop, that's not what I meant. I just meant that Cher will need to get all the practice she can while you're still here and can help her fix her mistakes. So let her attempt it next week, and then if she makes any, you can fix them. Wouldn't you rather she make the mistakes now, when you'll still be in the office than in three weeks, when you won't be?"

Louis glared at his boyfriend for another minute. 

Harry just raised his eyebrows, knowing that he was right.

"Fuck you and your logic," Louis pouted.

Harry leaned up to kiss him. "Just trying to help."

Louis rested his head back on Harry's chest. "Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome," Harry replied.

Louis could almost hear the smug smile spreading across Harry's face.

So, one week later, Louis didn't go to the office at 3:30 like he had every Wednesday for three years. Instead, he was cuddled up with Harry under a blanket on the couch, watching a movie. 

"Can't believe you're not gonna be in the office," Niall sighed, as he walked in front of the television.

"Niall, please, I'm trying to watch  _21 Jump Street,_ " Louis muttered, peering around his roommate toward Channing Tatum.

"We'll still be in the office, Niall," Harry replied with a smile. "Just a little later."

"Harry, I have pictures for this week that need to be edited."

"I already did them. I went in for an hour earlier this morning and fixed them. They're all saved on the server in the usual spot."

"But what about your section, Louis?" 

"Cher can handle it." Louis shrugged. "She'll have to, eventually."

Harry just smiled wider now that his boyfriend was embracing the fact that he could actually have some free time.

"You guys planned this didn't you?" Niall wondered.

"Of course we did," Harry answered. "We wouldn't just leave the staff hanging without some kind of plan in action."

"Fine, do what you want," Niall said, heading toward the door. "Does Liam know that you guys won't be in?"

"Yup, cleared it with him on Monday," Louis responded. "We'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Fine."

He headed out, leaving them alone.

"Well look at that," Harry said. "An apartment all to ourselves."

Louis tore his gaze away from the movie and looked around, as if he had just realized the same thing. "Oh, my God. This never happens."

Which was true. Usually at least one of his other roommates was hanging around. But Zayn was at the art studio working on one of his final paintings, and Liam and Niall were of course at the office now.

"Whatever will we do all alone?" Harry asked suggestively.

"I'm sure we can figure something out," Louis grinned.

He quickly leaned in, connecting their lips.

\---

A little after five, the boys unburied themselves from under the blanket, picking up the discarded clothing that had been thrown around the room. They dressed quietly, sneaking small smiles at each other as they did.

Harry stifled a laugh when Louis walked past him with a slight limp. 

"How do you feel?" he asked.

Louis shot him a look over his shoulder. "Sore. As if you're surprised."

"Guess I did something right, then."

Louis let out a yelp when Harry gives him a quick slap across his ass.

With a pout, Louis rubbed at the new sore spot. 

"Come on, let's go eat. We're going to Misso's, right?" he asked, referring to the pizza place down the street.

Harry just nodded and finished getting dressed.

Louis went to his bedroom and got his sneakers on. When he came back to the living room, he found Harry leaning against the front door, looking down at the ground in concentration.

"What's wrong?"

Harry looked up at him, brows still furrowed, before walking over to him and cupping his face in his hands. He leaned in and kissed him. It was soft at first, and then Louis parted his lips, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist. 

Harry deepened the kiss, and kissed Louis so thoroughly and so roughly that both boys were soon panting against each other's mouths. 

Harry reached one hand down and grabbed at Louis' ass, giving it a firm squeeze.

When they finally pulled away, breathing heavy, Harry looked down at Louis with such a fond, loving look, that the older boy felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Louis..." Harry started. 

He blinked twice, knowing what was about to come next. How could he not know?

"I... I love you."

Louis just blinked again, before feeling the right corner of his mouth twitch up into a half smile.

"I think I always have, really. Since I first saw you. And I know we've only been officially dating for like, a month and a half, but I always want to be honest with you, and that's how I feel. You're so kind, and loving, and you always make me laugh. You have the best eyes I've ever seen on a person. Also, the best ass, but I think that goes without saying."

He paused to join Louis in his quiet laughter.

"You're the only one I would ever plan three dates in one night for. Because you're worth all of that planning and effort. You're the only one I would want to stay with for a week when my roommate has a stomach flu. The only one I would help on a sixteen-page issue. The only one I would ever teach to cook. The only one I want to have snowball fights with. You're the only one I would keep doing fresh starts with, because we needed them. Because after all this time, it was all worth it. And you're the best boyfriend I've ever had. And I love you."

Louis sniffled, not realizing he was tearing up until then.

He ducked his head, wiping his tears away, before looking back up with a smile on his face again. 

"I love you, too," he responded. "How could I not? You put up with me and all my issues, and I'm not just talking about the issues of the newspaper."

He smiled back at Harry when the younger boy let a grin spread across his face.

"You're right. I think I've loved you ever since I first found out who you were, and I have all through the whole Aiden thing. I did every second. I did when you started coming over for FIFA nights and once I really started getting to know you, forget it. I was done for. You took on the challenge of teaching me to cook, something that no one else has ever done. You showed me your New York, one of your favorite places in the world. You showed me how our relationship would've started if I wasn't such an idiot and couldn't see the amazing, wonderful, perfect guy that had been in front of me from the beginning. And I'm so glad you didn't give up on me, because I love you with all my heart, Harry." 

Both of them were emotional by this point, so for a minute, they just smiled at each other before leaning in and connecting their lips again. This time, it was softer and slower. 

Soon after, they found themselves making their way into Louis' room. 

The second that the door was closed, clothes went flying off again. 

Harry rimmed Louis so hard, licking and sucking so quickly that the older boy begged for more. He wove his hands into Harry's curls, moaning loudly despite the tears streaming down his face. When he finally came, Louis' arched his back off the mattress and let out a long groan, unable to stop his eyes from closing. 

Harry gave his boyfriend a few minutes to recover before grabbing the lube and a condom and returning to the bed. 

He lay down next to Louis and poured the liquid over his fingers. 

Louis spread his legs, giving Harry easy access to his hole. 

Harry gently slid in two fingers, working them in and out of Louis quickly. 

Louis hid his face against Harry's shoulder, trying to hide his panting, but it wasn't like it was quiet. It was a lot for him to take, but he loved it. Loved Harry. 

Soon after Harry slid in his third finger, Louis grabbed the condom wrapper and opened it. He nudged Harry's arm, letting him know he was ready. The younger boy pulled his fingers out and Louis straddled him, quickly rolling the condom on. 

Once he felt able to, Louis lined his hole up with Harry's cock, slowly sinking all the way down. While he waited to adjust, he leaned down and kissed that special spot behind Harry's ear, getting a groan from him in response. 

Harry moved away and sucked a deep bruise on Louis' neck. Once the mark was formed, Harry softly kissed it.

Louis began to move, and since he was already sensitive, he quickly felt himself getting close. 

"Harry, I-"

Harry responded by gripping Louis by the hips and planting his heels into the mattress. 

Louis stilled his movements and Harry began thrusting up into him, going at a much faster pace. It was too much for Louis, who leaned forward and placed both hands above the bed, supporting himself against the wall.

"Fuck, Harry," he cried out, squeezing his eyes shut. He wasn't ready to come yet, though, so he held out as long as he can.

It wasn't as long as he usually lasted, but Louis was pretty proud of how long he did last.

"Go ahead, Lou. Come for me. Go on."

So he did. 

He spurted all over Harry and heard himself groan as he did, letting Harry continue fucking him until soon, Harry was coming, too. 

The two of them were a mess, sweaty and covered in come.

"Shower?" Louis asked once their breathing has returned to normal.

"It'll have to be a quick one, we're already late," Harry answered. 

Louis smiled. "I'm finding it a little hard to care about that right now, to be honest." 

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

They heard a noise coming from the living room. Louis grabbed the towel out of his hamper that he used in the shower this morning to clean them both off a little. Then they both put on boxers before walking to the bathroom.

They came across Zayn, who was now sitting on the couch, watching TV.

Louis was curious if he had heard them or not, since his roommate was completely ignoring them.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

"Long enough," Zayn answered. He finally looked at them, with a frown on his face and daggers in his eyes. "Really, guys? It's a fucking Wednesday. You shouldn't even be here."

"Sorry?" Louis offered.

"No, you're not. Just be quieter, Louis. Damn. And don't have sex in the shower? Please?"

The boys nodded, acting like teenagers being scolded by a parent.

They walked to the bathroom, giggling that Zayn had, once again, been the only one to hear them.

Oops.

\---

Eventually, the two boys made it out of the apartment and out to dinner.

After a few slices of pizza each, and refills on their sodas, they reluctantly made their way to the office.

"Thank you for today," Louis said once they were outside the building, grabbing Harry's hand. "I loved every second of it."

"Of course," Harry replied. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Louis stood up on his tiptoes to kiss his boyfriend again.

"I love saying that, by the way," he said once he moved away.

"I love saying that, too."

"I guess we should head in, huh?" 

"Probably. I'm sure I have more pictures to work on, and you have a section to obsess over."

"Shut up," Louis rolled his eyes.

He led them inside, still hand in hand.

"There you guys are," Liam called out. "Thought you would be here at 6? It's after 7 already."

"Something came up," Louis shrugged, plopping down in the chair at the Opinion desk once Cher moved out of it.

"Yeah,  _something,_ " Cher said, staring right at the bruise on Louis' neck. 

Louis' hand flew up to cover the mark, but it was already too late.

"Nice work, Harry," she joked.

Harry smiled at her and winked at Louis. He then walked into his office.

Louis quickly looked over what Cher had done so far, and was pleased to see that she was on pace with everything that Louis would normally have done by 7:00 on a Wednesday night.

"Great job," he complimented.

She grinned. "Thanks. Oh, I just printed out corrections, actually. Let me go grab them."

She jumped up out of her seat to grab the new versions of the pages.

Louis looked at his computer and felt like someone was staring at him.

"Nice of you to show up," Tyler sneered at him when Louis glanced to his right.

Louis' distaste for this boy had not decreased at all these past few weeks. Looked like the feeling was mutual.

"I'm just glad to be here, Tommy," he smiled. Two could play at the name game.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Whatever." 

Louis looked back to his computer just as Cher came back.

"So by the way," he started to say as he made edits to the page, "you're writing the editorial next week. And I'm not coming in at all on Wednesday, probably just part of Thursday just to make sure everything gets exported correctly."

"What?" Cher looked at him, eyes wide. 

"Yeah, I trust you. Of course, I'm probably gonna come in Thursday morning just to peek at what you have done. Plus, next week is my last week as editor. You officially take over next Monday, the 28th. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"

Cher shook her head. "No, it's just gonna be weird. Not having you here."

"I feel the same way. I mean, this has been my life for three years, and now it's just... not. But I have to move on eventually, right? And besides, you're gonna do great. I know you will."

"Thanks, Louis."

"Of course."

Giving up most of the responsibility to Cher? Definitely just one more step in moving on.

And Louis was totally ready to move on.

Definitely. 

For the most part.


	32. Food is an Option

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I finally have a definite number of chapters for the story. You may have already noticed that there's no longer a question mark at the top. (At least, there shouldn't be. It keeps going back and forth on me.)  
> There will be 38 chapters to the fic. So yeah, that means there's only 6 more chapters after this one. I have my timeline all typed out and know when everything will be happening. I just have to actually type it up.  
> I may or may not have had a minor panic attack when I decided this, because it's so strange to think that this story is definitely coming to an end.  
> But thank you to everybody who stuck around for this crazy ride.  
> Hope you keep reading until the end! It'll be here sooner than you think.

_I threw a wish in a well_

_Don't ask me, I'll never tell_

_I looked to you as it fell_

_And now you're in my way..._

Louis dropped his head back on his chair as "Call Me Maybe" played for possibly the twentieth time that night. It was Thursday night, his last full Thursday night in the office ever, and his ears have had to deal with Carly Rae Jepsen for the past four hours.

At first, it had started as a joke. Casey, the new sports editor, came in around four and said that the song had been stuck in her head all day, so she played it.

Alright, fine. Whatever. But then it got stuck in Leigh-Anne's head, so she played it. Then Casey played it again. Then Eleanor wanted to play it. And so on until now, when Louis was positive that if he didn't know all of the words to the damn song before, he certainly did now. 

He looked around to see who was playing it now.

"Niall!" he yelled, finding that his own roommate was the offender. "Not you, too!"

"Your stare was holding!" Niall sang to him instead of answering. "Ripped jeans, skin was showing!"

Louis groaned and turned back to his computer.

"Sorry, Lou," Niall laughed. "It's catchy, you have to admit it."

Louis just shook his head in response.

"So walk me through next week again?" Cher asked from next to him, clearly trying to distract him.

"Right, well I'll be here on Monday for the meeting," Louis started. "But I won't be here at all on Wednesday. Basically it'll be like last night, except I'm definitely not coming in. So you still have to create the pages, do the layout, make headlines and all that good stuff."

"OK, I did all right with that yesterday. I did have to ask Liam for some help, though."

"Good. Ask him if you need help. Since Dani's taking over most of the control now, he's here mostly to help all of you guys transition into your roles. Did my notes help at all?"

"Definitely," Cher said. "I just wanted to make sure it was right. You made it look a lot easier than it was when you were showing me how to do the layout."

Louis smiled. "Yeah, it all takes practice. Making the layout of the pages and figuring out where the articles will go and how big of a headline to give it is like a puzzle. The longer you do it, the better you get at it."

"Hope so."

"You will, I promise. And then, on Thursday, I'll come in late. At like, 7? And I'll look over the pages, make suggestions of things that I personally would do, but you absolutely don't have to, and make sure everything gets exported correctly. And the week after that, I'm not in at all."

"Except for Thursday night after we export, right? You seniors are all coming back in?"

"Right," Louis confirmed. "We'll be out drinking somewhere, hopefully, and come in and hang for a little bit. There will be cake, which Danielle and Eleanor are responsible for getting. And then that's it, the year is officially over for  _The Taylor Times._ " 

"If I have any problems that last week in here, can I ask you for help?"

"Absolutely. You won't have any problems though, you're ready."

"I guess."

"You were my first choice, you know," Louis said, wanting to boost her confidence.

"I was?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah. There was another person I was considering, but you were the clear winner. I'm just glad you said yes when I asked if you wanted to take over."

Cher smiled. "Thanks, Lou, that means a lot."  

"You're welcome. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"Here, Louis," El said, walking up to the Opinion desk. "Just put these changes in and let me and Dani see them. You guys should be out of here soon."

"Great," Louis thanked, taking the page from her. He looked at Cher. "You want to do the honors?"

She nodded eagerly, and they switched seats, Louis sitting next to the desk now instead of in front of it. 

Louis took a moment to look around the office as Cher worked.

El was now standing next to her old desk, talking to KJ. Their whole training period had been rough. 

Liam was preparing Dani to take over his position, but Dani had to train El to replace her, while El had to get KJ ready to take over Features. Somehow, the chain of the four of them had worked out, and it looked like everybody was ready for the next step. Impressive.

Next to El and KJ sat Perrie and Tyler, who was doing a great job, as well.

That was bittersweet. While Louis would've loved to see Tyler crash and burn, he was glad that Entertainment would have a strong new editor next year. Especially one who would be around for a while instead of just one year.

In the back of the office, Niall and Casey sat at the Sports desk, finalizing their pages. Josh sat nearby, working on homework. Louis envied Josh and his ability to relax at the office and actually be able to focus on schoolwork in their last weeks as editors. Louis wanted to be able to do that, but it was too hard for him. All he could think of was how much he would miss everybody and everything.

In the other corner, across from Louis, Leigh-Anne was sitting with Damien pointing out strong parts of a news article to include in any story he got from the writers. Stan was finishing up his own article that was running this week. Just another thing that Louis didn't like about writing for News. It was constantly changing and updating, even at 8 o'clock on a Thursday night. Opinion articles didn't change. Once a writer submitted it, and Louis approved it, that was it. The article was finished.

"Done," Cher chirped. "Let me go grab this from the printer."

She got up and walked away, just as "Call Me Maybe" started playing again.

"Not again!" he groaned.

\---

"We're not using water balloons," Liam scolded, as if it was the worst idea he'd ever heard. 

"Why not?" Perrie asked. "They've used water guns before."

"Yeah, but that was more controllable. When a water balloon explodes, it soaks everything! I don't want to take the chance with all the computers."

It was Saturday afternoon, and the seniors were sitting in the living room of the apartment, trying to figure out what they wanted to attack the office with on the last night of their 'Banned Week.' 

"Do they sell mini paintball guns?" Perrie inquired.

"We're not trying to hurt people, Perrie." Stan shot down that idea real quick.

"Yeah, that's why I said 'mini."

"Can we use food?" Josh wondered.

"I don't want to clean it up," Liam sighed.

"Liam, we're graduating," Louis reminded.

He perked up at that. "Oh my God, you're right. We're leaving. We don't have to clean anything up. Finally! OK, food is definitely an option."

"Look, the past three years has been squirtable chalk, cupcakes and chocolate syrup and water guns," Louis said, ticking the list off on his fingers. "We can think of something better."

"Like what?" Stan asked. 

The group fell silent as they wondered about what to use. It should be something easy to find and relatively inexpensive. They were still college students, after all.

Usually, the messier, the better, so Louis did want to use food.

"What's good in a food fight?" Perrie wondered out loud.

"Pudding?" Louis offered. 

"Spaghetti?" Josh answered.

"Jell-O? Applesauce?" Liam suggested.

"Mashed potatoes?" Stan added.

"No, no, no, I've got it," Louis grinned. He jumped up and bolted into Zayn's room. "Come here."

He grabbed his roommate's arm and dragged him out of his computer chair and back into the living room.

"Zayn's gonna help us with this, though."

"No, I'm not," Zayn said, trying to break out of Louis' grasp.

"Listen, you will once I tell you want I want to do. And I know you're not an editor, but we need a senior to help out with this. We all trust you. Sit down. Here's my idea."

Louis walked them through each step of his plan, smiling when each editor quickly got on board with it.

"This is going to be so gross," Liam muttered.

"Zayn, you'll just have to be quick when you make your move," Josh said. "Don't linger too long, and Louis, you can't, either. This is all about the element of surprise, so literally, like three seconds after Zayn goes, you have to run in. And then I guess each person that follows will only take a few seconds, too."

"Yeah, we don't want them to figure out what's going on too soon," Louis agreed. "But we can do it. And it'll be messy. Liam, just remind Dani to cover up all of the computers and everything."

"Definitely. I don't want to explain that mess to Higgins and Teasdale."

\---

While the seniors were having their meeting, Niall and Harry were at the iHop ten minutes away from campus.

"Oh, yeah..." Niall moaned as he took a bite of his food.

"What is that again?" Harry asked.

"Jelly Donut pancakes. So worth the half hour wait, I'm telling you."

Harry smiled at his friend while he took a bite of his own Strawberry Banana pancakes. "Whatever you say."

"You're just jealous that you didn't get something new. Like, seriously, strawberry banana? You could make that at the apartment if you wanted to."

"I know, but this is what I always get. It's my favorite."

"What you always get? Live life on the edge, man. Especially when it comes to your breakfast for lunch."

Harry nodded politely as he took another bite.

"So what do you think they're gonna come up with to chuck at us?" Niall asked.

"No idea," Harry answered. "Knowing Louis, it'll be food."

Niall shook his head. "Liam won't let it be food. He hates cleaning up after everyone leaves."

"Liam won't have to clean it up, he's graduating."

"Fuck, it's gonna be food, then. Get ready to clean."

Harry shrugged. "As long as they have fun, it's cool with me." 

"That's adorable."

"What is?"

"You. You're such a cute boyfriend. 'As long as they have fun, it's cool with me.' Like, I want Josh to have fun, too, but I also don't want him shoving pasta down my shirt."

"Why would it be pasta?" Harry asked.

"Why wouldn't it be? Think about it. They're gonna get something cheap, quick to make and easy to throw. Spaghetti fits the criteria. And you might want to wear a hair net or a beanie or something, if you want to keep your hair clean."

Harry's hand subconsciously flew up to his hair. 

"But whatever they come up with," Niall spoke through a mouth full of food, "they're not gonna tell us about it. It's gonna be a huge secret, I guarantee it."

"I already know that. Louis has been taunting me about it for like, two weeks already, and they only started talking about it today."

"Josh has been, too. We have mean boyfriends."

"We're probably gonna hit the worst," Harry stated.

"Probably."

The boys looked at each other sadly at the realization and, with a sigh, returned to their food.

"So what are you guys gonna do after graduation?" Harry asked out of curiosity. 

"Skype a lot, text every day, visit as often as we can. It's gonna be hard, though."

"How far apart are you guys?"

"About two and a half hours," Niall said.

Harry's eyes widened at the information. 

"Yeah, tell me about it. So like, I'll spend a weekend at his house and vice versa. And if we can't do that, we'll meet up around here or something. Basically, it'll be a lot of driving. Glad my car gets good gas mileage."

"I thought me and Louis were bad. We're almost two hours apart."

"So I guess you guys will be driving a lot, too, then?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry nodded. "Shit..."

"What?"

"I'm gonna have to meet his family."

"You haven't met his family yet? What are you waiting for?"

"Well he hasn't met mine yet, either. They just don't come to campus. His family, either. Just hasn't happened yet. I don't want to meet them for the first time when I'm spending a weekend at his house, though. Maybe I'll meet them at graduation?"

"You will, man," Niall stated. "I know Lou's family. They're all gonna be there."

"What do you mean 'all'?"

"I mean, his mom, Dan, his four sisters. All of them."

"Christ..." Harry swore. 

"You'll be fine. They're totally cool."

"You're definitely going to graduation, right?"

"Obviously, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't? Actually, Liam was saying the other day how we could crash at his house the night before if we wanted to save time in the morning. It's a good idea, really. He said that when he went last year, it took him over an hour to get to campus."

"Doesn't he live like, twenty minutes away?"

"Yeah," Niall started, "but traffic gets really bad. Think about it. There's like, thousands of cars trying to get to one place. The roads probably get backed up and everything. I don't want it to take me like, three hours to get there from my house instead of two."

"I better talk to him, find out if I can do that, too."

"You know he'll say yes."

"Still, I want to make sure. Because knowing me, if I try to make that drive the morning of, I'll get stuck in so much traffic that I'll miss the entire ceremony."

"I think Zayn is probably gonna stay there, too. Hell, we might as well get Louis to stay over, too, make a whole thing of it."

"Sounds good to me." Harry smiled.

The boys finished their meal and got the check, slowly making their way back to the parking lot to Niall's car.

Soon, they were back on campus and walking into the apartment, the door left unlocked, as usual.

As soon as they walked into the living room, the group of six that sat around the coffee table fell into total silence.

"Did you hear anything that we just said?" Louis asked, worried that the plan would be revealed.

"Uh, no?" Niall answered.

"OK, good," Josh smirked.

"Oh, shit," Harry muttered under his breath. 

"This is going to be even worse than I thought it was, isn't it?" Niall asked him quietly.

"Yup."

"Great."


	33. The Final Countdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty long - 5,700 words. Hope you don't mind. =)

This was it. The last week that Louis could call himself the Opinion Editor.

The last week that Louis would be in the office. 

The last week before Louis changed the routine that he'd established three years ago.

He could do this. He really could.

As he walked into the office, he held his head high like nothing was bothering him.

And it was working, too, until Niall and Josh started singing. 

"It's the final countdown!" Josh sang out.

"Do do do doooo... Do do do do dooooo..." Niall contributed while Josh started drumming on the table. 

"No really, Josh, let us know how sad you are about this being your final week as an editor," Liam deadpanned from his seat.

"The final countdown!" Josh answered in song, throwing his head back and both hands into the air.

Louis rolled his eyes and sat down next to Harry, smiling when his boyfriend didn't say anything, and instead just took his hand in his own.

"Before we start this meeting, I just wanted to say something," Liam called out once Higgins and Teasdale had arrived.

"Liam, don't make us cry," Louis warned gently.

"No promises, Lou. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for such a successful year. To all of the graduating editors, we actually did it. We're really graduating and we should be proud of all of our accomplishments so far. It's been wonderful. To the continuing editors, don't forget about us. Don't forget anything that we may have taught you this year, whether it was in the office or outside of it. And to you new editors, congratulations on getting picked for your position. I know that all of the editors are very protective of their sections, and wouldn't hand them over to just anybody. So, no pressure or anything, but you guys have some pretty high standards to meet."

He smiled along as everyone laughed quietly.

"I can't speak for everyone here, but I've had an amazing time working here, and I will truly miss all of you, whether I've worked with you for just one year," he looked down the table at Stan, "or three," and he turned his gaze to Louis, who smiled back at him, trying not to cry.

"This office has been my third home, the second being Taylor in general. I love it here, and I don't know what I would be without the lessons that I've learned here and the experience I've gained. So, thank you."

"Very well said, Liam," Teasdale praised.

"Damn it, Liam, I said no tears!" Louis jokingly scolded, wiping away the drops brimming at his eyes.

The others laughed, and anyone else that got a little emotional took a minute to calm themselves down.

"Anyway, Dani, if you want to go ahead?"

Dani just shook her head. "You should do it."

Liam nodded before speaking. 

"News, what have you got for us?"

Louis scooted his chair closer to Harry, wishing he could actually be cuddled up to his boyfriend instead of sitting in separate chairs. Because, this was hard. He watched all of the new editors go through the section's stories for the week and it just felt _wrong_. Stan, El and Perrie all sat there, saying nothing, just listening as their replacements spoke.

When Cher talked about the Opinion stories for the week, Louis had to restrain himself from talking about the editorial topic or which article got pushed to next week because of space issues.

He just squeezed Harry's hand tighter as she spoke, and felt a little calmer when Harry squeezed back. 

His heart went out to Niall, though. His own roommate was probably hurting the most at this table. Because not only was he losing a coworker, he was losing his boyfriend and his section co-editor.

Sure, Louis was sad to have to leave Harry behind, but they hadn't been co-editors. They hadn't bonded over the necessary struggles of completing a section together. They hadn't worked together to teach a writer how to conduct a successful interview or look up necessary statistics. They didn't share information about which photographers were best at action shots and who had the best camera. Niall and Josh had done that, and had been for the past two years. The two of them had their own dynamic when working together on the Sports pages, and had a system in place, one that had won them a national award for sports coverage, in fact.

Niall was now having to deal with establishing a long distance relationship and working on a bond with Casey, one that would likely work, as the two of them were both friendly, outgoing and dedicated people. But it would still take some time.

Because as great as Casey was, she wasn't Josh.

Louis watched as she read the stories for the Sports section, and Niall and Josh both just stared at the table. After the first two stories, Josh looked over at Niall and lightly nudged him, as if to ask  _Are you OK?_

So quickly that if he had blinked, he would have missed it, Louis saw Niall give a slight shake of his head, simply saying  _No._

Niall still didn't look up, though.

The quiet exchange brought a fresh round of tears to Louis' eyes, because now he felt guilty. He'd been so wrapped up in how he would be affected by graduation that he didn't even think about Niall, one of his best friends. 

He slipped his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text.

 **_Louis: I LOVE YOUUUU!!_ **

He added a few hearts and kissy face emojis before hitting Send. 

Niall took his phone out to check the new message. 

A smile crossed his face and he looked up at Louis before responding.

It hurt to see that Niall's eyes were completely red-rimmed, but it didn't look like any tears had fallen yet.

 **_Niall: Am I that obvious?_ **

**_Louis: Only to me. Because I know what to look for._ **

Louis winked after he sent his response.

Casey finished up then, and the editor's meeting was done. 

That was it. He would never sit through another one again. 

When the pizza came, he told himself he would never eat from this restaurant again. 

Well that was a lie. He still had another few weeks on campus. He would probably eat there again soon.

Then the staff opened the doors for the writers and they sat down for one more meeting before the night was over. 

By this point in the year, the editors could go pretty quickly through the articles that were set for this week's issue. Mostly because all of the articles were assigned to writers, and almost all of the stories for next week were taken, too. 

And then it was over. Louis would never spend a Monday night in this office again. Never sit in his seat going over editorial topics again. Never eat pizza with all of his coworkers at the editor's table again. Never...

OK, he was going to stop now. Because now he was starting to depress even himself. 

\---

"OHHH!!!!"

It FIFA night again. And most likely, the final one of the year.

Liam suggested that they shouldn't have it next week, during "Banned Week," since it would be hard to be around the other editors while they were still working on the paper and the seniors weren't. Plus, final projects were due soon, and it would be in everybody's (Louis') best interest to finish those projects and have as little distractions as possible.

"I can't believe you didn't see that steal, Liam," Louis mocked from his seat on the couch. "It was right in front of your face."

"Sorry, I was a little distracted by your player FOULING MINE! WHAT WAS THAT?"

"That wasn't a foul! Calm down."

"I'm plenty calm, you calm down."

"Seriously? Shut up!"

"You shut up!" Liam yelled back.

"Boys, both of you shut up," Zayn interrupted, sitting between his roommates before they killed each other.

"Fine," they said in unison before continuing the game.

Across the room, Harry and Dani were laughing at their boyfriends.

"I don't get why they get so competitive. It's just a stupid video game," Dani said before taking a sip of her drink.

"I don't know, either," Harry agreed. "You would think they were gonna win money or something real for it."

"Exactly!"

"Like, they just get bragging rights. And those don't even last that long."

"Seriously. Besides, it's not like it takes any real skill to be good at that game. It's just a lot of pushing buttons, isn't it?"

Harry tilted his head to the side. "No, it does take practice to win that game. You have to know which buttons to hit and how to do it all. It's a lot of hand-eye coordination and quick decision-making. Two valuable skills right there. That's why Louis' so good at it."

"Are you saying Liam doesn't have hand-eye coordination or quick decision making?"

"No, of course he does, just not as good as Louis..."

Danielle looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Harry. You know what, keep building your boyfriend up. Go ahead. Doesn't take away from the fact that you are absolutely horrible at the game."

"I'm not horrible!" Harry exclaimed defensively.

"You're really bad, babe. Hate to break it to you."

"I'm better than you are."

"Are not!"

"Am, too!"

"Are not!"

"Am, too!"

"You want to take this to the couch?"

"Yeah, I do, actually."

Liam and Louis finished their game then, laughing about the score, which was 5-2 in favor of Louis.

"Who wants next game?" Liam called out.

"We do!" Dani shouted, throwing her empty hand up in the air.

She and Harry walked over to the couch and shoved the boys out of the way.

"Wait, Dani, you're actually playing?" Liam asked, shocked.

"Harry, you never want to play," Louis stated confusedly. 

"Times are changing," Harry muttered.

"Let's see what you got, Styles," Dani said.

The two simply chose to do a rematch of the game that Liam and Louis just played, since neither one of them was patient enough to pick a player or a team.

The rest of the editors gathered around, as this was a match that they never actually thought would happen. 

A few minutes in, it wasn’t pretty. 

Dani was really just hitting random buttons and moving her players around the field, hoping to get lucky and score something. Harry, on the other hand, was trying to remember what Louis had taught him over the months in hopes of scoring a goal based on technique. 

Neither strategy was working, however, as the score was still 0-0 when the game was halfway over. 

"Louis, what am I supposed to do?" Harry whispered quickly.

"Here, try this," Louis attempted to demonstrate a move on the controller for Harry.

"Hey, none of that!" Liam said when he spotted Louis.

"Fine!" So Louis tried to verbally explain a scoring move, but it all came out as gibberish to Harry.

"Liam, how do you score?" Dani asked.

"Honestly, I hit a lot of random buttons and aim my player for the net and just hope it's the right one," Liam shrugged.

"See, that's how I thought it went! That's how I got into this mess," Dani sighed.

"Alright, Dani, ready to finish?" Harry questioned from next to her.

"Yeah, bring it," Dani sounded a lot tougher than she really felt.

They started the second half of the game, and it was a lot like the first half. 

The other editors had moved on to playing Kings on the kitchen floor, and their shouts could be heard from the living room. 

Harry and Dani continued playing, and it looked like neither of them would score, until suddenly, Dani hit the right random button. 

Her player had been running up to Harry's player and then she hit something; all of a sudden, she had the ball and was running. 

"Harry, stop her!" Louis yelled.

"Dani, shoot the ball!" Liam shouted next.

"How?" Harry and Dani asked in wonder.

"Hit B!"

"Which one is that?" Harry looked down at his controller to find the correct key.

While he's distracted, Dani hit the button, and shot the ball, scoring easily since Harry has only now just found the B button.

"Yes!" Dani shrieked, getting to her feet.

"No!" Harry dropped the controller on the table and stared at the screen. Maybe Dani had a good idea with the whole 'hitting random buttons' technique.

"It's alright, Haz," Louis comforted, rubbing his back.

"How did you do that?" Liam asked in awe. "I never make goals like that."

"It's all in the strategy," Dani smirked, sitting back down.

"You didn't have a strategy," Harry reminded.

"Well, neither did you, really. But I still kicked your ass."

"Ouch," Louis whispered under his breath, hiding his smile.

Liam grinned, and wrapped Dani into a hug. "That's my girl."

\---

Wednesday started out like any other day.

Louis woke up, ate breakfast and went to class. 

Harry texted him around 11:30 asking if he wanted to get lunch at Trailblazer's at 12:45, when the lunch rush should be dying down for the people who had class at 1.

They met there, ate lunch and made random conversation, like they always did. 

They parted ways after that and Louis went back to the apartment. 

He got back, and all three of his roommates were in their rooms, working on whatever they needed to finish.

Louis started working on his senior project, which was probably about a third of the way done. 

Whatever. He worked well under pressure.

He worked on and off for the next two hours, until Liam and Niall left for the office.

A little after 4:00, he decided that he'd done a decent amount of work, so he called it quits for now.

He jumped on his bed, thinking maybe he would take a nap. 

But, after a half hour of laying there, he knew that wasn't going to work. So he wandered into Zayn's room.

"Zayn..." he whined as he sat down on his roommate's bed.

"What, Louis?" Zayn mumbled, not tearing his gaze away from his sketchbook.

"I'm bored."

"Not my problem."

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to leave for the studio," Zayn answered.

"To do what?"

"To finish part of my final project. I just have to fill in all of the color."

He sighed when Louis took the book from him.

"Zayn, this looks so cool," Louis complimented. "Graffiti?" 

Zayn just nodded his head.

The design was rather intricate - a lot of crossed black lines and bubbles surrounding the center of the drawing, which had a spray can in the middle misting out a thick paintbrush. A solid dark shadow started at the edges of the sketch and lightened as it melted inward. It looked like it probably would've taken Zayn hours to do. On top of that, it was bright. There was a lot of color used in the bubbles, as well as where the black lines intersected.

"You're going to work on this now?"

"Soon, my studio time is booked for 5-6, so I'm heading out in a few minutes." 

"Oh, OK. Well have fun."

Zayn made a mental checklist in his head, making sure he had everything. He was already wearing old sweats, so he didn't care if paint got on anything. His spray cans were saved in the studio, and so was the start of his project. He reached under his bed and grabbed the extra blue and red spray cans he bought the other day, just in case he ran out tonight. He also went to his desk and grabbed one of his face masks for when he started working. 

When he straightened up, he saw that Louis was still sitting on his bed, playing with the edge of Zayn's comforter.

The younger boy sighed before saying, "Louis, would you like to come to the studio and watch me work?"

"Wow, Zayn, that would be great! If it's OK, sure I'll go with you! If you don't mind, of course!"

"No, I don't mind..."

"Cool, let me go get changed!"

Louis bounced out of the room to put on sweats, too.

Zayn rolled his eyes and grabbed an extra facemask. He couldn't wait until next week when he would at least have the other senior editors to keep Louis occupied. Hopefully.

Ten minutes later, Zayn and Louis were making their way toward the Fine Arts building. 

"I've never seen the art studios from the inside before. What do they look like?" Louis inquired.

"I don't know what they're like at other schools," Zayn started, "but these ones are basically big open rooms with lots of floor and wall space, so we can make our paintings or whatever in the space we like. Each one has locked cabinets that the students can use to keep their materials in. So the one we're going to already has my painting hung on the wall, because I was there yesterday afternoon, so I kept it there. And my paint's there, too. Most of it, anyway."

"Cool. I've never seen you work before, either."

"It's not something that I think is that interesting, so I don't really invite people to join in," Zayn downplayed his talent, as always.

"I'm sure you're wrong about it being interesting."

They entered the building then, and Louis followed Zayn down a side hallway, where he knew the studios were, but never had a reason to travel down before. 

At the end of the hall, they walked through another archway, and there were two wooden doors on each side of the hall.

Zayn walked into the second door on the right, and Louis followed him into what must be his art studio.

"Hey Kelly," Zayn greeted a blonde girl just finishing cleaning up her space.

"Hi, Zayn," she said, "your project coming along alright?"

"I think so. My photographs and my painting are already done. I'm finishing my graffiti today, and then I'm doing my charcoal next week. Should be good."

"I hear you. My sculpture has been done for two weeks. Watercolor drawing is already finished. My photos will be done next week. And I just started my painting. But I'll be in here tomorrow and Friday to finish up. Sorry, who are you?"

She was looking at Louis now. 

"Sorry. Kelly, this is my roommate Louis," Zayn introduced. "Louis, this is Kelly, she's been in almost all of my art classes since freshman year."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Kelly and Louis said, shaking hands.

"Well I'm off. Good luck with your stuff. Nice to meet you, Louis."

"Yeah, you, too."

Kelly gathered up the rest of her stuff and left Zayn and Louis alone in the room.

"What did you have to do for your final project?" Louis asked, a little shocked.

Zayn shrugged. "Pick four types of art that we've learned about over the course of our education and complete one original piece for each type. I've been working for like, a month on this. But, we found out about it at the start of the semester, so we've had enough time. It just took a while to come up with ideas."

"Damn, no wonder you're always in the studio."

"It's fun, though. I like it, so I don't really mind."

Louis nodded as Zayn went into a cabinet and took out a canvas bag. It clinked when he walked over to a far wall, so Louis guessed it held his spray cans.

"Here," Zayn said, reaching into his pocket. "You'll want to put this on."

He passed over a white mask to keep the fumes out of his face. It looked like Louis was about to go into surgery. Zayn looked the same once he pulled one on, too.

He opened the windows to get some air in the room before he pulled out his phone and started a playlist. Jay-Z was the first to start playing.

With that, Zayn started working, forgetting that Louis was even in the room.

Like he said, all that needed to be done was the color. The shadow work and lines were already complete.

Zayn uncapped an orange can and started spraying, his movements quick and accurate. After a few sprays, he switched to blue.

Louis watched in amazement as his roommate worked. He'd never seen a graffiti drawing done before, and he didn't know how he did it. 

Zayn had to be perfect in each spray he did, otherwise, the drawing wouldn't be right. And he was. It was like his muscles wouldn't let him mess up, and each and every movement was precise.

It also looked like he didn't need the sketchbook. He was doing it all from memory. It was mechanical, and Zayn knew which color to grab and where to color.

After about 45 minutes, it was done, and Louis felt his jaw drop when he saw it. It was wonderful, and it looked exactly like the sketch he was holding in his hands.

"Zayn, that's awesome," he complimented.

"Thanks," Zayn said, looking at it as if he was trying to find something wrong with it.

"It's exactly what you drew in your notebook. You're not going to find anything wrong."

Zayn shrugged. "Just want to make sure. It's an idea I've had for a while, so I want to make sure I did everything right."

Louis wrapped his arms around his friend, sweeping him into a hug. 

"Zayn Malik, graffiti artist. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? And it definitely adds to your bad boy image."

Louis smiled when Zayn started to laugh. "Bad boy. Yeah, alright, that's me."

Zayn started to clean up his spray cans, leaving a note by his canvas that it would be moved in two days, after the paint had enough time to dry. 

Once he was finished, they left the room for the next student, who would be arriving in a few minutes.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Zayn asked.

Louis shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'll go work on my senior project some more."

"You have actually made progress with that, right?"

"Yes, I have. I'm like, 40 percent of the way done."

"Lou! Isn't it due next week?"

"No, turns out I read the syllabus wrong," Louis answered. "May 2 is only the day my professor wants to have meetings with us to check in. Presentations are during finals week, and the paper itself is due May 9. So, I'm good."

"Wow, lucky you."

"I know, right? So I'll be good. I'll need something to do all next week when I'm home every day."

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that, no offense."

"Hey! I didn't do too bad today, did I? I didn't distract you at all."

"No, I guess you didn't," Zayn sighed. "Thanks for tagging along. It was cool to have someone else in there."

"Any time. I enjoyed it. Gave me something to do, didn't it?"

"It did. What are you going to do tomorrow afternoon? I'm just studying, no art to work on."

"Shit, I don't know," Louis said. "Probably just sit in my room and stare at the walls."

"Sounds miserable."

"Probably will be."

\---

On Thursday, Louis went to his classes in the morning, and on the way back, stopped by the office to check on the pages that Cher did the night before.

Hoping to see the pages complete, he used his key to unlock the outside door and made his way in, where he found Josh already hovering over the table.

"Fancy meeting you here," Louis drawled.

Josh jumped at the sudden company. "Hey. Wasn't expecting anybody else to be here."

"Me either. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," Josh tried to lie. "You?"

"Well I'm checking the Opinion pages to see how they look, since I wasn't in last night."

"Oh, OK."

"You're doing the same thing, aren't you?"

"Of course not." Josh waved Louis off. 

"Yes, you are."

"OK, fine I am! I just want to make sure Niall's gonna do OK with Casey."

"What happened to Mr. Confident the other day? Singing 'The Final Countdown'?"

"That was all for Niall, pay attention," Josh explained.

"What?"

"Of course I don't want to leave. Why would I want to? I'm just trying to be strong for him. He's been miserable these past few weeks at the thought of me leaving. So I was hoping that if I acted like it wasn't bothering me, and kept encouraging Niall and Casey to take over the pages, then it wouldn't be as hard of a transition."

"And did it work?"

"I guess, I mean, the pages are all done," Josh said. "Looks like they're just waiting on a few headlines and corrections, obviously."

Louis just waited for Josh to continue. 

"I just hope it's not too hard for him. I mean, we've worked together for two years now, and I hope he finds the right balance with Casey. The two of us did everything a certain way, so I just want him to be able to work well with her, too."

"Niall will be fine. He's tough. And he's always been a people person. Way more than you or I have ever been."

Josh smiled. "You're sure right about that."

"Plus, Niall is super dedicated to the Sports section. He'd probably find a way to work with someone he hated if it meant that he still got to write about soccer."

Josh nodded slowly, listening to Louis, but keeping his eyes on the pages on the desk.

"What else is bugging you, Josh?" 

Josh shrugged. "I don't know, I just... I don't want him to forget about me."

"He could never do that. You've worked together for two years, and he's loved you for almost all of that, I'm pretty sure."

"So you think he'll miss me?"

"Of course! You're insane if you really think that he won't. He loves you too much. He'll probably spend part of the year comparing you to Casey and measuring you guys up."

"You think?" 

"I know he will. You know he will, too. Come on."

"I can see him now.  _Josh would never start a story like that,"_ he said, mocking Niall's voice.

 _"Josh wouldn't call a coach like that. What are you doing?"_ Louis joined in.

_"That's not the way Josh makes edits to the page."_

The two boys shared a laugh before falling silent again.

"Thanks, Louis," Josh said.

"You're welcome. But if it makes you feel better, I have the same worries about Harry."

"You do?" 

"Hell yeah, I do. I worry that he'll forget about me, too. That he'll think that Cher is a better editor than I was or that he'll leave me for..."

He caught himself before he finished.

"You're worried that Harry would leave you for someone else?" Josh couldn’t believe what he's hearing.

Louis stared down at his feet, shuffling his weight back and forth.

"You have someone in mind, don't you?"

"Maybe."

"Who?"

"...Tyler."

"Tyler? Perrie's new kid Tyler?"

Louis nodded his head. "It's crazy, I know. But, I can see it in Tyler's eyes. He wants Harry. Bad. But Harry is either ignoring it or hasn't even noticed yet. And I'm guessing it's the second one, because Harry can be like that sometimes. Never wanting to see the bad in people - that Tyler would want to break us up. And, I don't know, I just worry that if I'm not around as often as I am now, that he'll find someone else if someone shows interest."

"I still don't believe this," Josh admitted. "Of all people, you think Tyler would be Harry's type? Dude's a total prick."

Louis burst out laughing. "He really is, isn't he?"

"My God, if the computer screen turned into a mirror, he would never get the section done."

"And I hate his voice," Louis said. "Like, it's just so whiny, but deep at the same time. How does that happen?"

"You're crazy if you think Harry would be interested in Tyler. After everything, he's gonna work for you way more than he ever did with Aiden. And I'll probably smack you around a few times if you think otherwise."

"Thanks, Josh."

"No problem. Us third years gotta stick together."

Josh had a point. Currently, he, Louis and Liam were the only editors who had been working at the paper for three years.

"I can't believe we're graduating," Josh admitted.

"No,  _I_ can't believe that  _I_ am graduating," Louis laughed.

"That's true, I did worry about you sometimes."

"Shut up!"

"Hey, I'm just being honest."

Louis laughed again. "Whatever. I don't want to hear it. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to check the Opinion pages and make sure they're up to standard."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna read these articles and make sure they make sense."

The boys fell into a comfortable silence. 

Louis saw that the pages were exactly how they should be. The layout was complete, the articles were good and the headlines were solid.

He pulled out his phone to text Cher. 

 **_Louis: Looking at the pages now. They look great. I'm so proud!!_ **

A few minutes later, he got a response of a bunch of heart-eyed and kissy-faced emojis. 

Smiling, he put his phone away, said goodbye to Josh and went back to his apartment where he would count down until 7 o'clock, when he could come back. 

The hours passed slower than Louis thought possible.

He kept getting disappointed when he looked at the clock, thinking that ten minutes had gone by, when really, it had only been two or three. He had an afternoon class, but that didn't help anything, since that was only an hour long. 

When he came back, he took a nap for two hours, and then he was just awake. And he had to wait. 

Zayn was studying, like he said he would be, so he was no help. 

The other senior editors were being responsible and working on their senior projects, and Louis just didn't feel like it.

So he sat. He browsed Facebook for no reason and played Flappy Bird on his phone, hoping to break his personal high score of seven.

He thought about the future - about life after graduation. What would this summer be like? How often would he get to see Harry? Would he like his new job? Would the people there be nice to him? 

When would he have the money to move out?

That was the big question, really. It's not that he didn't look forward to seeing his family again and being at home, but he loved being on his own. And this past year of living in an apartment with three of his best friends made him so much more eager to get his own place so he wouldn't have to live under his mom's rules anymore. 

He just didn't have a definite answer for that question, unfortunately. 

After what felt like days, it was finally 6:45. Louis quickly got ready and left the apartment, saying goodbye to Zayn on his way out.

He walked to the office, excited to be going in. 

"Louis," he heard as he crossed the parking lot. 

"Hey, Josh, you ready for this?" he greeted when he saw his friend getting out of his car.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Josh locked his car and walked into the building with Louis. 

The two walked down the hallway and up to the big wooden door at the end of it.

They looked at each other and took a deep breath before opening it. 

The office was bustling, which could be a good or bad sign for 7:00 on a Thursday.

Leigh-Anne and Stan were both on the phone, even though Stan shouldn't be making phone calls anymore, but whatever.

El and KJ were at the Features desk, trying to figure out a headline and top photo for the page.

Niall and Casey were laughing over something before looking back to the computer screen to finish putting in edits.

Liam and Dani were arguing over whether or not a change needed to be made in one story.

Harry was sitting at the Opinion desk, talking about something with Cher, but both had smiles on their faces, so it looked like it was a good conversation.

This. 

This is what Louis would miss the most. The noise, the friendships and the general panic and chaos that came with putting out a paper.

He walked over to his desk and Josh walked over to his.

"My two favorites!" he greeted easily.

"There you are!" Cher exclaimed happily.

Harry stood up and wrapped Louis in a hug, kissing him on the lips before pulling away from him.

"Missed you around here," he said sadly.

"Missed you, too. You have no idea," he responded.

"Here, take your seat. I'll grab another one," Cher said, moved out of the rolling chair at the desk.

"For the last time," Louis pouted.

"Don't do that," Harry scolded.

"Sorry. Let me look at these pages, Cher. They're all finished?"

"Yeah, Liam said I should be done in like, an hour," she answered, bringing another chair over from the table.

Louis looked it over again, even though he'd seen it only 7 hours ago.

And it was perfect. He literally had no suggestions for improvement. Everything was complete, there was no unnecessary space around the articles, headlines were strong, articles made sense and the editorial was well written and had an even balance of opinion and fact. 

Louis told Cher all of this, smiling when she beamed at him.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "There's nothing I should change?"

"Not at all. I've said it before, I'll say it again: You're ready."

The reactions to those words were mixed.

Cher gave herself a pat on the back, smiling widely. Harry, on the other hand, looked down at his lap, not making eye contact with either one of them.

Louis could identify with both of those emotions, as they were the exact same ones he was feeling himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if all the graduation stuff is getting depressing! I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible, and this is a lot of stuff I felt/saw when I was graduating from my school paper. So, yeah.  
> Hoping to get the next chapter posted either Monday or Tuesday.


	34. Banned Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for getting me past 200 Kudos with that last chapter! You guys are so awesome!  
> Anyway, this chapter is long, too.  
> This is now the longest chapter I've ever written. It's 6,500 words. Enjoy!  
> 

Just a month ago, Louis wouldn't have been able to fully define the word 'boredom.' Sure, he could've tried to explain what it meant, and he probably would've exaggerated it a lot, but he never would've had a true definition for the word.

But times had changed, and in Louis' mind, he now truly knew what boredom was.

It was 4:30 on a Monday, and for the first time in three years, he was not at the newspaper office. 

Instead, he was lying on his couch in his living room, staring at the ceiling.

"Do you think they started yet?" Perrie wondered as she played with a loose thread on her shirt.

"Probably," Stan answered. "If Liam taught Dani anything, it was how to be punctual."

"Shut up!" Liam threw a pillow at him.

"She's probably giving some kind of motivational speech about how even though it's different without us there, they should still work as hard as they have been and put out a really great issue," Josh mumbled as he played out a beat on the coffee table with his drum sticks.

"Are we pathetic?" Stan asked. "Like, the fact that we're sitting here on a Monday afternoon instead of doing anything productive because we just don't know what to do with two hours of free time?"

"We're not pathetic because of that..." Louis started. "We'll be pathetic when we sit by and wait for Zayn's texts about how the writer's meeting is going."

"I'm not doing that, by the way," Zayn mumbled, coming out of his room.

"Yes, you are, if you know what's good for you," Louis threatened.

"No, I'm not. I'm not going to live-text a newspaper meeting because you guys are-"

"Are what, Zayn?" Perrie asked, a gleam in her eyes.

"Um..." 

"No, go ahead, finish your thought. What are we? Pathetic? Obsessive? I'd say we're hardworking and dedicated to our paper and making sure it runs well and that we've trained the newbies the best we can, but that's just me."

"Oooh..." the boys muttered lowly from around the room.

"You know babe, that's crazy, I was going to say the same thing! I would love to let you guys know how the writer's meeting goes!"

"Oh! Would you? That would be great." Perrie smiled.

"Absolutely, it's such a good idea." Zayn sat down next to Perrie on the futon. 

"Love you," he whispered in her ear before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes, but the trace of fondness was back when she smiled at him.

"Zayn, you don't have to tell us about the whole meeting, just about who seems nervous, who messes up, things like that," Louis explained.

"How will I know who messes up?"

"You'll know," the five editors said in unison.

"Creepy... But I guess if it will make you guys happy, then sure."

\---

Meanwhile, Harry was sitting at the editors' table, bouncing his leg up and down. 

He used to think that he was a person who could handle change, but he was starting to think that wasn't true. 

Just last week, he had been totally calm while sitting in this exact same seat. But now, the atmosphere was different. It was full of nerves and tension. And it was most likely due to the absence of five people. 

Harry knew his own nerves were coming from the lack of a specific loud, outgoing, gorgeous, blue-eyed boy sitting next to him. 

 _This must be how Louis felt last year,_ Harry thought to himself. He knew Louis hated change, too, so being at a table with new editors and people sitting in different seats last year probably drove him nuts.

_Can't imagine how he felt when I sat next to him for the first time instead of Ed._

Actually, no. He knew exactly how Louis must have felt then. Because it was what Harry was feeling at this very moment. 

Anxious. Impatient. Annoyed. Along with a mess of other feelings that Harry didn't feel like identifying, because this sucked. 

He wanted his staff back. Not that the new kids weren't cool or anything, but they weren't the people he had grown accustomed to. 

He couldn't have talks with Josh about their favorite music while they waited for the Sports pages to export late on Thursday nights.

He couldn't joke around with Perrie about the latest fashion trends.

He and Stan wouldn't be spending any more time complaining about the incompetence of some of the people who took photos for News.

Liam would never praise Harry on his photo spreads again.

And then there was Louis. His boyfriend. His best friend. The one who would play games with him during meetings because they didn't feel like listening to anyone else. The one who would distract Harry from editing photos on Wednesday nights because Louis was waiting for corrections on his page and just wanted a kiss. The one that he was just most excited to see.

Would Cher want to play tic-tac-toe or hangman with him? Would it be the same? Would Dani notice how well his pictures turned out? Would Tyler share his opinion about fashion? 

He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together, putting his hands behind his head.

Letting out a sigh, he looked to his left to see Cher genuinely listening to KJ talk about Features stories. Wrong. All wrong.

He looked across the table to find Tyler looking at him.

He furrowed his brow, thinking something was wrong. But a few seconds later, he realized what the actual problem was when Tyler smirked and winked at him.

_Oh, that's not good._

\---

Zayn walked into the office at 5:27 and grabbed a seat behind Niall. 

He nodded his head in greeting to Harry before nudging his roommate in the back with his foot.

"What?" Niall whined, turning around. 

"Just saying hi. Wow, I can't greet my own roommate anymore?" 

"I guess you can."

"How you holding up?" Zayn asked. 

Niall shrugged. "As good as can be, I guess." He looked at Casey and smiled before continuing. "It's just weird, you know? No Louis. No Liam.  _No Josh."_

"I know. I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better, they're all at the apartment right now, bored out of their minds."

"Are they?"

"Yeah, they're pouting that they can't be here. It's kind of cute, actually."

Niall grinned at the new information as Dani called for the meeting to start.

Zayn took out his phone and opened up the group message that he had started between him and the other five editors, and began updating them on what was going on. He was such a good friend.

Back in the apartment, Liam yelled out, "Here we go!" 

_**Zayn: Meeting just started. Josh, Niall wishes you were here.** _

"He fucking better," Josh muttered as they all read the message.

"Don't be a dude, Josh," Perrie kicked at him. "That was sweet."

"Awww," Louis cooed. "You miss him, too."

"Shut up."

_**Zayn: Liam - Dani and El are awesome. Probably the perfect pair to replace you two. They got everybody's attention immediately.** _

Liam smiled as he looks down at his phone, but he didn't say anything. 

_**Zayn: Stan, your boy Hurley seems good. Not nervous at all.** _

"Good," Stan said. He typed out a reply.

_**Stan: How's Leigh?** _

They waited for the answer. 

 _**Zayn: She's good. She's waiting to jump in and help him against Higgins and Teasdale's nagging, but she doesn't have to. He's holding up fine.**_ _ **So, I guess she's happy?** _

They all groaned, knowing that their advisers went the hardest on the News section, always asking the most questions and annoying them the most about their content. 

"Sounds about right for a Monday," Stan muttered.

 _**Zayn: The KJ kid seems all right, a little nervous. Has some good ideas.** _ ****

"No one cares, get to Tyler," Louis said. 

"Why do _you_ care about Tyler?" Perrie wondered.

"Uh, I don't, really. I just, want to get to Cher quicker. Duh."

That seemed to be an OK answer for Perrie, who nodded and looked back down at her phone.

No one else noticed the blush across Louis' face or the knowing glance that Josh gave him. 

_**Zayn: Tyler's cool. Seems even more full of himself than he was before, though.** _

Louis scoffed. Figures that now that he was an official editor he would get a big head.

 _**Zayn: We got another Louis on our hands.** _ ****

Louis was confused at the next text. 

_**Louis: What's that supposed to mean?!** _

_**Zayn: It means that Cher has us all in stitches. She's hilarious talking about this editorial.** _ ****

Louis beamed at the praise. "That's my girl."

 _**Zayn: I can't with her accent, though. My god, she's such a New Yorker.** _ ****

Louis rolled his eyes before replying. 

_**Louis: You get used to it, trust me. So she's not nervous?** _

_**Zayn: I don't think the girl has a nervous bone in her body.** _ ****

"I'll take it," Louis stated.

"Shh, shut up," Josh suddenly got serious.

 _**Zayn: Casey's too excited for this. What even.** _ ****

Josh laughed loudly and sent something back. 

 _**Josh: What about Niall?** _ ****

_**Zayn: He doesn't look as sad as he did when I first got here.** _

Louis patted Josh on the back, not sure if the other boy would be happy or sad to hear that.

_**Zayn: Speaking of sad, Louis, Harry keeps looking at the door like he's waiting for someone.** _

Louis felt guilty, even though he knew that he couldn't be there. Harry must've been waiting for Louis to walk in that door because he was as sad as Louis was about graduating. 

_**Louis: Is he playing hangman or anything?** _

A minute went by before the reply came in.

_**Zayn: No, just sitting and shaking his leg.** _

Louis sighed. His poor boyfriend.

_**Zayn: Alright, meeting's over. Waiting for Niall to finish then we'll be back.** _

The group of editors sat in silence for a few minutes, figuring out how to feel about the texts. 

Louis and Josh felt guilt and sadness because their boys were clearly hurting, but were both glad that their new section leaders were self-assured in their roles. 

Perrie wasn't sure how to feel because apparently the person she'd picked to replace her was cocky, which she hadn't noticed before. 

Stan was relieved that Hurley could apparently stand his ground against the advisers, a trait that he would definitely need.

Liam was just uncomfortable. He was happy that Dani and El seemed confident, but that made him sad at the same time because that meant that they'd moved on. They didn't need them anymore. Plus, he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with the mix of other emotions in the room. 

It was going to take some time to get used to the fact that the five of them officially no longer worked for  _The Taylor Times,_  and judging by the looks on the others' faces, that fact was just starting to occur to them, too. It never clicked until this point. That this was real. That the meetings were still going on, just without them.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea..." Liam said.

Louis stayed silent, because for once in his life, he didn't have a sarcastic remark for Liam. 

\---

Zayn sighed on Wednesday afternoon as he walked into the living room. He was just at the art studio, working on his charcoal drawing. He only had a little more to do, and then he was done his final project. But he would worry about that tomorrow.

As he looked at the scene in front of him, he realized that Liam and Louis were seriously driving him nuts. He loved them, but he wished the two of them would stop pouting and lounging around the apartment. 

Liam was pacing back and forth around the living room, holding his cell phone in one hand and scratching at the back of his neck with the other. 

Louis was laying down on the futon, his legs slung over the back of it, watching Liam.

They were pathetic. 

"Are you guys serious? What are you doing?" he asked.

"I don't know what to do with myself right now," Liam said as a way of explaining, his voice all jittery. "Like, I should be at the office, doing  _something._ Not being here, having nothing to do."

"Are you really complaining about having free time?" Zayn mumbled.

"I guess? I don't know; it's like I have too much free time. Like there's something I should be doing, but I know that's not it. I mean, my final project is already finished..."

"Your final project is already finished?" Louis exclaimed, sitting up straight. 

"Yours isn't?" Liam retorted.

Zayn stifled a laugh at the two of them. "While you two figure out what to do with your lives, I'm gonna take a shower." 

He excused himself to his room to grab a towel, leaving them alone.

Once Zayn finished and was dressed again, he walked back in the living room to find just Liam there.

"Where's Lou?" 

"Went to the library. Something about needing to use real books as references instead of web sites."

Zayn nodded his head. "Got it." 

"What do you do with your day?" Liam asked with genuine curiosity. 

Zayn shrugged. "I do homework. Study. Watch a little TV or play FIFA if I can. Take a nap if it's early. Go to photo assignments if I have any."

"What should I do?"

"You're really not used to this, are you? And I thought Louis was taking the time off badly."

"It's just that... This past year has been so time consuming. Usually, if I found myself with free time, it meant that I was slacking off and not getting something done. So, I just don't know what to do."

"Want to play some FIFA?"

Liam shrugged. "Sure."

They played a round, with Zayn just beating Liam 3-2. After the game was over, Zayn could tell Liam was still anxious.

"I'm going to the gym," he said, getting up from the couch.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Zayn smiled. "Burn off some of that energy."

Liam nodded and went to his room to change.

Zayn turned off the Xbox and put the controllers away. 

_Finally got the apartment to myself. Like a normal Wednesday._

Suddenly, it hit him. He took out his phone and sent a quick text. 

 _**Zayn: You busy right now? You should come over. The guys are all out.** _

A few minutes later, he got a reply.

 _**Perrie: Bored out of my mind. Be right there.** _ ****

He was such an idiot. He was alone in the apartment, or at least, he would be in a few minutes, and his girlfriend was one of the senior editors who wasn't in the office right now. How did it take him so long to connect those dots? 

"Alright, I'll be back in a little while," Liam announced, walking back into the living room, now changed in workout clothes and a set of headphones draped around his neck. 

Zayn smirked. "Take your time." 

\--- 

Louis wasn't meant to sit in a library. He just wasn't. Granted, he'd been here for only two hours, and had spent at least twenty minutes of that time trying to figure out how to find a book for his project. 

But he found it. Once he got the courage to ask the librarian to find it for him, of course.

He started to pack up his stuff and signed the book out of the library. It would be a good source for his project, at least.

As he walked back to the apartment, he went over the plan again for tomorrow.

The seniors were going out to dinner at 6:30. As of now, they were going to Angelo's, an Italian restaurant the next town over. 

On the way back from dinner, they would stop so they could buy the ice cream. That way it would melt a little before they went in to the office with it.

He and Liam had gone to the grocery store on Sunday to buy their assigned foods, but he wasn't sure about the others. He was assuming they would have it before tomorrow night, though. 

The best part about their plan of attack was that the others wouldn't be expecting it in a million years, especially with Zayn helping out and starting it off. 

Plus, they were coming into the office one at a time, instead of all together. 

It began to rain as Louis got closer to his building, so he jogged the rest of the way to avoid getting soaked.

He quickly swiped his ID at the entrance and pulled open the door, shuffling inside. 

Luckily, he managed to stay only a little damp, but he would still change his clothes when he got to his room.

He opened the door to find the apartment quiet, so he walked into his room to get out of his wet jeans. There was nothing worse than wet jeans.

As Louis sat down on the floor, struggling to peel his pants off, he heard it.

A loud moan from next door.

No, not the apartment next door, the room right next to Louis': Zayn's. 

Another moan, this one louder came seconds later. 

"Shit, Zayn," said a familiar voice.

_Fuck._

Louis forgot that Perrie was also not going to the office. 

He froze, not knowing what to do. His jeans were only half off, but he wanted to get away from here as fast as possible. Maybe he could hide in Niall's room, which was farthest away from Zayn's.

He stood back up, trying to get them off, and in his haste to get undressed, he tripped and fell over. 

More moans came at a quicker pace, and  _shit,_ Louis was still in his room, still trying to get out of his pants.

The sounds of a squeaky mattress invaded Louis' ears, and while that would be OK if Louis was the one on the bed, it was completely unpleasant right now.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" was all he heard before he got the jeans off, flinging them to the floor and running out of his room and down the hall. He went into Niall's room and shut the door behind him.

A few minutes later, it was back to silence in the apartment, so Louis peeked his head out of the room, not hearing anything.

Zayn came out of his room then, wearing just a pair of sweatpants.

"Oh hey, roomie," he smirked.

"You heard me come in, didn't you?"

Zayn shrugged. "Maybe. See, I forgot that Perrie didn't have to go to the office today. Guess it was just such a routine of her not being around on Wednesdays. Obviously, she had to come over."

"You're a dick, man," Louis said grumpily.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" Zayn laughed. 

"Oh, you can't blame karma for this! You know I'm loud already. Obviously, it translates into my time with Harry."

"And I've had to hear all of that time with Harry! Not by choice, obviously, but just, way too much for it to be normal, dude. You heard us once, you'll get over it."

"I don't like you," Louis pouted.

"Love you," Zayn grinned. "Where are your pants, by the way?"

Louis looked down, remembering that he was just in his boxers.

"I was trying to get changed quickly, but it wasn't working," he explained quickly.

"Got it," Zayn said, even though it was clear that he didn't.

"So... were you guys done, or...?"

"Yeah, that was round two you heard, actually."

Louis groaned. "Didn't need to know that."

"Sure you did. But yeah, we're done. We're probably gonna grab a shower and then eat dinner, if you want to join."

"I think I'll pass on both," Louis smirked. 

Zayn rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny."

"I'll wait for Liam to come back from...?"

"The gym," Zayn answered.

"Right, the gym. I should've figured. Anyway, I'll be in my room for now, pretending that this didn't happen. See you guys later."

"Love you!" Zayn repeated.

"Shut up. Where's Harry when I need him?"

"He's working, at the office."

"Rhetorical question, Zayn!" Louis yelled out, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

\---

This was it. D-Day: The day that every senior editor looked forward to. Besides graduation, of course.

Louis' classes dragged on even worse than usual today, because he was just so eager to go to dinner with his friends and then attack his other friends with junk food. 

Eventually, he finished for the day, putting him in the best mood he'd been in all week. His mood only got better when Harry came over to the apartment for lunch. 

"You're really not going to tell me what you're doing tonight?" Harry whined. 

"No, it's a surprise!" Louis smirked as he opened the fridge to find something to eat. "And it's a good one, too."

"Just give me a hint!"

"No!"

"Why? What's the big deal if I know? I won't tell anyone."

"I love you," Louis said, kissing Harry firmly on the lips. "But I'm not telling you anything."

Harry pouted, but gave up the argument then. "Promise not to hit me the worst?"

Louis smiled. "No promises."

"You suck," Harry replied.

"Only when you ask nicely."

"I hate you."

"Quite the opposite, actually."

"Ugh!" Harry groaned, storming off into the living room to sit with Niall, who was watching TV.

"How'd that work out for you?" Niall laughed.

"Not well. Did you get anything out of Josh?"

"Of course not," Niall huffed. "He just kept saying that they were having dinner at the restaurant and dessert at the office. I mean, yeah, we're having cake, so obviously, they can have dessert at the office."

"Do you think that was some kind of hint?" Harry asked. "Like, dessert at the office? They're using some kind of dessert food?"

 _Crap._ Louis thought to himself in the kitchen.

"Huh... I guess so," Niall said before looking back to the television.

"If you boys are quite finished," Louis started, bursting into the room, "Harry, will you help me with lunch? There's like, nothing in here."

"Are you using food tonight?" Harry questioned instead.

"You really think Liam would let us use food, knowing it all has to be cleaned up?" Louis responded.

"Liam won't have to clean it up, so he wouldn't care," Harry countered.

"It's still Liam. Even if he wasn’t responsible for it, he would still be paranoid about it. He’d be worried about whether or not you guys cleaned up every last crumb that we left behind. He would probably lose sleep over it. And don’t fight me on it, you know I’m right.”

Harry wanted to come up with a response, but he couldn't. Louis had a point.

“Fine, so it’s not food,” he replied instead. “But it’s something gross isn’t it?”

Louis shrugged and smiled.

\---

"I'd like to make a toast!" Stan raised his beer bottle up and waited for his friends to do the same.

They were sitting around a table at Angelo's - had been for almost two hours - laughing and sharing stories, and the waitress had just finished clearing their plates. 

"To friendship, especially the one that the five of us have formed over the past year. I haven't been working with you as long as you've been working with each other, but I know that I wouldn't have been half the editor I am without you guys pushing me along and giving me encouragement to keep going, no matter how rough times got. And I hope that you would all say the same if the situation was reversed."

They nodded in agreement.

"I was only an editor for a year, but it was an amazing year, and I don't think I would change a single second of it. So, cheers."

They took a sip of their drinks before the next person went.

"My turn," Louis announced. "To our hard work. Four years have gone by, and it feels like it was in the blink of an eye. We've put in so much time and effort in everything that we've done, both inside of the office and outside of it. And I'm very proud of where I am now, and I'm proud of all of you, as well. It's seriously an honor to call you guys my friends. Cheers."

Another sip; this one a little longer than the last.

"Me next," Liam said, "and I'll make it quick, I promise."

"No tears," Louis warned.

Liam smiled. "To the future. None of us really know where we'll be this time next month or next year, but I do know that I hope that we all stay friends and all stay in touch. Because Stan's right. We have one hell of a friendship, and I don't want to see it go to waste just because we're not on the same campus. And with each other's support, I know that we can all make something of ourselves. We've worked hard enough for it. Cheers."

They finished off their drinks after that and got the check.

Once it was paid, Josh smirked, "So should we get everything prepared, then?"

"Probably," Perrie answered. "You have the whipped cream?"

"Yeah, it's in my car. You guys have all of the other stuff?"

"It's in our kitchen, yeah. We're just gonna stop and get the ice cream for Zayn to take in," Liam replied. "Meet you back at the apartment?"

Josh nodded. He had driven himself and met the others at the restaurant since his apartment was closer. It didn't make sense for him to drive to campus just to drive back the way he came.

"Zayn's there, so he can let you in," Louis told him. "I asked him to start slicing the bananas, but he probably didn't."

"This is gonna be epic," Stan commented.

"They won't know what hit them," Perrie smiled.

\---

"Alright, that's it! We're officially exported and done for the year!" 

It was 10:15 and the applause and cheers around the room were almost deafening. 

"Thank you, everyone for all of your hard work!" Dani said. "It's been a good transition, and I think we'll be so ready for September when we're all here for real."

"Harry!" El called. "Can you tell Louis to be here in ten minutes?"

He nodded and took out his phone.

"Everyone else, let's cover up the computers."

She reached under the editors' table and pulled out a roll of trash bags and a handful of plastic grocery bags.

The group got to work in preparation for the sure-to-be messy attack. 

As soon as they were done, Harry suggested taking a staff photo before the seniors arrived.

They all gathered in front of the editors' table and Harry adjusted his camera to fit everyone in the shot. Then he set the timer and ran in to stand next to Niall. After a few seconds, everyone gave his or her brightest smile, and the flash went off.

"Perfect," he smiled, looking at the screen. "No one blinked!"

"Yay us!" Casey exclaimed.

They heard a knock at the door.

"Are you really knocking?" Dani laughed.

She approached the door slowly, looking to see that everyone else was ready for an attack.

Dani opened the door to find-

"Zayn? What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, holding up two plastic bags in his hand. "The others asked me to drop this off for them."

He made his way into the office to the table near the door where they usually put the pizza, closing the door almost all the way behind him. 

"Said you guys were having ice cream tonight. Asked me to bring it over so you guys would already have it."

"We're having ice cream, too?" El wondered, looking at Dani, who just looked confused.

"Anyway, here I'll open it for you. You can have some before they get here, I guess." Zayn smiled, taking a scooper from the bag. 

Before he opened the first container, Zayn said, "Too bad they didn't give me other stuff. You could've had banana splits or something while you waited."

"Yeah, sure..." Niall said. 

Zayn put the scooper on the table and opened up a carton before moving on to the second.

"Um, Zayn?" Harry started.

"Yeah?" he asked, opening the second carton and grabbing the third.

"It's like, melted."

He popped the lid off the last container and looked to where Harry was looking.

"That's weird..."

The ice cream wasn’t fully melted, just like it had been out of the freezer for about an hour or two. It still had some solid parts to it, but it was more watery than anything else.

"Why would they send in melted ice cream?" Tyler asked, almost as if he's offended.

"Hmm... Probably, so I could throw it easier."

And with that, Zayn reached into a container and flung a handful at Tyler.

It hit him square in the face, and suddenly everyone was quiet, unsure of whether they should scold Zayn or laugh at Tyler.

In their hesitation, Zayn grabbed another two handfuls and threw them at Niall and El, a smile on his face.

"Oh, you're dead," El warned, taking a step toward him.

All of a sudden, the door burst open.

"Don't forget the chocolate syrup!" Louis ran in and started squirting everyone.

He had a bottle in each hand, and a bottle in each of the pockets of his sweatpants.

The others caught on then, realizing they were in the middle of a food fight.

"And the whipped cream!" Josh yelled as he darted into the room, coating everyone who tried to run away.

The screams from the girls and hollers from the boys were enough to alert Stan that it was his turn to come in.

"Have some bananas!" He raced in, throwing banana slices at anyone who crosses his path.

"Can't forget the sprinkles!" Perrie laughed as she jogged in and shook two containers across the room. 

By this point, everyone but the seniors is covered in the makings of a banana split. Some ice cream got on them, but for the most part, they're all clean. Except for one valuable piece.

"And the cherry on top!" Liam rushed in last, throwing cherries toward everyone, trying to get it to land on the whipped cream that covered their skin and clothes.

Extra points if it stayed in their hair. 

It was an all out war now. KJ and Tyler had resorted to trying to corner the seniors to get their food away from them. 

However, Louis ran up behind Tyler and squirted chocolate syrup down the back of his shirt, laughing when the younger boy squealed from the sudden cold.

Stan and Harry were going toe to toe, with Harry trying to get the bananas away from the senior, but it was no use. 

Josh ran past Harry, spraying him with whipped cream, and Stan used the distraction to mash bananas all over Harry's face and neck.

Perrie had gone after Leigh-Anne and El with the sprinkles, grinning when each girl got sprinkles down her shirt.

It was probably the messiest attack the office had ever seen, but of course, it was all worth it. 

Once all of the non-seniors were sufficiently covered in ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, bananas and cherries, the seniors put their "equipment" in their pockets and had a group high-five to congratulate themselves on a job well done.

"Now we can celebrate," Liam announced. 

"Yeah, babe, I'll go get the cake." Danielle shot Liam a dirty look as she shuffled out of the room and down the hallway.

Harry snuck up behind Louis and tugged at the chocolate syrup bottle in his pocket.

"We're gonna save this for later, yeah?" he whispered seductively in his ear.

Louis turned his head to look up at his boyfriend. "Oh, absolutely. I have another full bottle in my room, too, just in case I ran out of these."

Harry didn’t say anything; he just winked, with a smirk on his face.

"Alright, make room," Dani yelled from the hallway.

Liam and Josh moved to the table where the ice cream sat just minutes ago, clearing away any of the mess left behind.

Dani came in and laid the cake down, letting the seniors view it for the first time. 

They moved in to see the design.

On it were individual pictures of each of the five seniors in some sort of goofy pose, making funny faces at the camera or posing in a strange way. 

Along the bottom, it said "We'll miss you so bad, so call us maybe?"

"Really?" Louis huffed. "You quoted Carly Rae on the cake?"

El smiled. "It seemed appropriate." 

"And it was funny," Casey agreed.

"I love how they put pictures on cakes now," Liam complimented, leaning in to get a closer look.

"Oh do you now?" Dani wondered.

"Yeah, it's cool."

"Hmm... How cool is it now?" 

And then Dani shoved Liam's face right into the cake.

Everyone laughed as Liam went easily down, thrown off by the element of surprise that Dani had.

"I love you!" Dani said as Liam pulled himself up, wiping the frosting off his cheeks and away from his eyes.

Quicker than Louis could realize, all of a sudden the rest of the seniors were now under attack, as well. 

Cher and Harry each had handfuls of cake and were rubbing them into Louis' hair and across his cheeks, despite his very loud protests.

Tyler was throwing a handful at Perrie, who was trying to avoid it.

Casey and Niall were pouncing on Josh with cake in their hands, and Leigh-Anne and Hurley were stuffing cake down Stan's shirt.

Yeah. It was definitely the messiest final night in the office. But it was also one of the loudest, with shrieks and laughter filling the room.

A few minutes later, the cake was all thrown off the tray it came on, and there was no more of anything else to be thrown at each other, so the group posed for one final picture, cake, icing, ice cream, chocolate syrup and everything else still on them.

Harry wiped his hands off, though, in order to set up his camera. This was more difficult to set up, but he finally figured it out, having to move the camera farther back than he did for the first shot. 

He set the timer and hurried in, wrapping his arms around Louis from behind and planting a kiss on his cheek as the flash went off for the second time that night.

The group passed time telling stories of the past year and of years before. It was an hour later that the best story of the night was told.

"Did Josh ever tell you guys the Blanket Fox story?" Niall asked the group.

"Oh please tell the Blanket Fox story!" Louis exclaimed, clapping his hands.

"What's the Blanket Fox story?" Casey asked, brows furrowed. The other new other editors copied her expression.

"Why would you bring that up?" Josh muttered to Niall. "I almost escaped the year without talking about it."

"Because it's the best story I've ever heard!" his boyfriend replied. "If you don't tell the story, I will."

Josh sighed. "Fine, but no one is filming this. Put your phones and cameras away. I mean it."

When he was sure everybody did, holding his or her hands up in the air for a moment so he could see, he began.

"OK, well I have very vivid dreams," Josh started. "And, sometimes when I wake up, I can't tell that I'm not dreaming any more. So one time, I had a dream and there was a fox in it. And it was a mean fox. Not overly vicious, but still mean."

He ignored the stifled giggles from the editors who had heard the story before. 

"Well, I woke up, and of course, thought the dream was still going on. I looked down on my floor, and you know how sometimes if you're tossing and turning at night, your blanket gets all balled up or whatever?"

A few of them nodded.

"That happened to me. Like I said, that fox was mean. So, my comforter was balled up on the floor, and when I looked real quick, it looked like a fox."

More quiet laughs.

"So, I got up very slowly, because I didn't want to wake it up, you know. And then I, very quickly, dashed out of my room and down the hallway into my parents' room."

"Oh, no."KJ sighed."Dude." 

"Yeah. So, I woke them up. It's like, 7 in the morning. And I'm like, hey? Mom? Dad? There's a fox in my room."

Louis' shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. No matter how many times he'd heard this story, it still got him.

"And my dad's like, 'Josh, go to bed. There's not a fox in your room.' And I said, 'Dad, seriously, come get this fox out of my room.' So he gets out of bed and goes downstairs to get a flashlight. Because it was winter, and it was still dark, so it made sense to get a flashlight instead of turning on the regular light."

"You didn't!" Cher exclaimed.

"Oh, I did. Now, by this point, I'm starting to realize, there's not a fox in my room. But I'm like, 'I've gone this far, might as well check.'"

Perrie leaned into Zayn's shoulder to hide her laughs, and Zayn was biting down on his bottom lip in order to prevent any sounds from escaping. 

"So we go in my room, and my dad looks around and surprise! Finds no fox in my room. And all I could say was... 'I'm so sorry, dad.'"

"I can't believe that really happened," Hurley said with an amused look on his face.

"I know," Josh sighed. "And I kept thinking... 'I'm in college. I shouldn't be doing this.'"

"Wait, when was this?" Cher asked.

"Like... winter break of my sophomore year... Of college."

The group lost it at that point, bursting into loud laughter.

"Are you kidding?" Casey forced out, while wiping tears from her eyes. "You were twenty years old? I thought you were like, five!"

"No, no. I was twenty years old," Josh grimaced.

"Hey, Josh, don't you live in Philly?" Louis smirked, already knowing the answer.

Josh just nodded his head.

That set them off again, all of the editors bent over in their seats, clutching their stomachs and slapping at their knees, most of them with tears streaming down their faces.

"Why would there ever be a fox in your room if you live in Philly?" KJ questioned.

"I don't know! It was a very realistic dream!" Josh defended himself.

"Babe, it's OK," Niall smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"It was scary." Josh pouted.

"I know it was."

The party wound down soon after that, and everybody got their stuff together.

"Wait a minute," Dani called out before they could leave.

Liam and Louis paused by the door, wondering what was wrong. 

"Who's helping me clean this up?"

The two of them looked at each other before yelling out, "Not me!"

They grinned and dashed down the hallway, grabbing Zayn on the way out, with Josh, Perrie and Stan close behind.

They were graduating. They weren't cleaning up anything.

Hey, it was tradition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the Blanket Fox story was a real thing. When I worked for my school paper, this actually happened to one of the sports editors. And we made him retell the story at the end of every year.  
> And one year, like, three of us filmed it. It was awesome.  
> I'm not creative enough to come up with that on my own.  
> Next chapter will be posted Sunday night!


	35. Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to write! I kept getting sidetracked thinking back to my last week in college. Haha!  
> Also, this is another long chapter, now the longest chapter I've ever written. It's 6,600+ words.
> 
> *Warning: I've been told not to read the last couple hundred words in public because of how sad it is. So, just a heads up.

On Tuesday, Louis had a paper to turn in. On Thursday, he had a presentation for his final project. And on Friday morning, he turned in the paper for his final project. And that was it. He would be done with college.

Taylor required students to move out by Friday if they don't have a final that day. If they do have a final on Friday, they're allowed to move out on Saturday.

Since Louis didn’t have any official finals, he had to move out on Friday. He had to talk to his mom and find out when she could come up to help him with his stuff.

The only problem now was, Louis sort of forgot about the paper that's due on Tuesday. Well, less "forgot," more "didn't feel like doing." It wasn't a long paper, only 5-7 pages, but Louis still had to do it. 

On top of that, he still had to finish his final project. 

So, he essentially spent his weekend... awake. He only got a few hours of sleep on Friday night before pulling an all-nighter on Saturday. It was on Sunday afternoon that Harry made him stop and take a nap with him.

"No, Harry, I have to finish!" Louis whined as he tried to get around Harry to get to his computer.

"Nope," his boyfriend denied, saving the work Louis had so far. "You have three full pages done, and well on your way to the fourth. Your final project is actually sort of almost done. It's 2:00 on Sunday, and nothing is due until Tuesday afternoon. You've been awake since yesterday, so you're taking a break."

"I was on a roll, though!"

"You were not. I walked in here to find you staring at this old Post-It note from like a month ago that's still managing to stick to your shelf."

"So?"

"So, you need to get sleep. You can't survive on Red Bull and determination alone."

"Fine. But just like, an hour," Louis conceded. 

"Or a few."

Louis tried to put up a fight, but had to admit defeat when he stood up and started to waver, his eyelids feeling heavy.

"That's it," Harry sighed. 

Without another word, he stripped Louis down to his boxers and pushed him into his bed. Seconds later, he slid in next to him.

"If I had more energy, I would think you were trying to seduce me," Louis mumbled into his pillow. 

"If you had more energy, you would've been right," Harry smirked. 

Louis let out a yawn, not even attempting to stifle it. 

"Good night, Sleeping Beauty," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Louis and pulling him closer, his chest to Louis' back.

"I'm not sleeping yet," Louis whispered.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fucking go to sleep, Louis."

In the living room, Zayn, Niall and Liam were sitting around the coffee table, also worrying about their finals.

"Liam, stop tapping on your computer," Zayn muttered as he looked at his sketchbook. Again.

Instead of responding, Liam just let out a grunt of acknowledgement. 

"You know you guys could actually be helpful right now..." Niall said.

"Niall, for the last time, I don't have an opinion about college athletes and whether they get paid or not," Zayn stated. 

For Niall's journalism ethics class, his final project was on a topic of his choice. He had to pick a controversial topic, pick one side to it, explain the situation and offer a possible solution.

He chose to write about college athletes and whether their scholarships were enough compensation for the effort that they gave to their school.

"But if you guys would just -"

"No," Zayn and Liam said in unison.

"Fine," Niall pouted. "Liam, why are you still reading over that essay? It's like, the tenth time you've read it this weekend."

"Second," Liam furrowed his brow. "And it's my final project. I want to make sure it's right. Plus, I have to get my presentation ready for it."

"Can't you just print out the important parts of your presentation and put them on notecards?"

The glare that Liam gave him was enough to shut him up.

"OK... Zayn, what are you doing? I thought you were done your project."

The older boy shrugged. "I am. Just looking through my old sketches. Trying to figure out if any of my designs could be improved."

"But everything is done. You put so much thought into the work before, I think you can relax now."

"I know I should; I just want to make sure I did my best."

Niall nodded and looked back at his computer.

"Sorry for snapping at you," Zayn apologized. "I just really don't have an opinion on college athletes like you do."

"Same here, Ni. Sorry," Liam added.

"It's cool," Niall said. "We're all just on edge. We need to have a roommate night, though. One last hurrah before we leave on Friday."

"Don't say it like that," Zayn said.

"You know what I mean, though. Look, none of us has stuff due on Wednesday, so the four of us will chill here on Tuesday night. Drink beer, eat pizza and watch a bunch of stupid movies. Just hang."

"Works for me," Liam agreed. "We'll probably spend all night Thursday packing anyway."

"And getting ready for presentations," Niall sighed.

"Tuesday's good. I have a date with Perrie tomorrow. She's handing in everything early so she can go home on Wednesday instead of Friday."

"Yeah, Josh's lease is up on his apartment on Friday, so he's actually moving home on Thursday. I'm with him Wednesday night."

"See, Dani mentioned something about Thursday night," Liam realized. "I might have to pack up most of my stuff on Wednesday then."

"Well it's definitely going to be Tuesday, then," Niall said. 

He put his laptop on the coffee table and stood up, walking toward Louis' room.

He peeked in through the partially open door before walking back to the couch.

"We'll tell Lou later. They're passed out in there."

"About time he went to sleep," Zayn scolded. "I was starting to feel like I was living with a zombie."

"It's typical Louis for you, though," Liam spoke of his long-running roommate. "He swears he works best under pressure, so he always procrastinates until the last possible minute. But he usually does well, so... Whatever works for him, I guess."

\---

Tuesday night could literally not come soon enough. 

After pulling another all-nighter on Monday, Louis' first paper was handed in that afternoon, and it was exactly six pages long. His presentation and final paper were prepared and ready to go, as well.

Zayn spent last night with Perrie and had finalized all of his artwork to be handed in on Thursday.

Niall finished working on his ethics project and studying for his copy editing final in two days.

Liam stopped obsessing over his final project, realizing that there was nothing else he could do for it.

The boys had done just about all that they could do for the academic side of their final week here. Now it was time for one last roommate bonding session.

"Who do you think would be Doug?" Niall asked as he reached for another bag of popcorn.

The boys were watching  _The Hangover_ in their living room, surrounded by several duffel bags and suitcases wide open and half full. 

"You," Liam answered without hesitation.

"What? Why?"

"You would absolutely be the one to get himself lost on the roof," Zayn contributed.

"All it would take is a sign that says 'Free Food,' and you would follow it anywhere." Louis smiled.

"Not true," Niall attempted to defend himself.

"True," the other three said in unison.

"Fine, but Liam, you would definitely be Stu."

"Why?" Liam scoffed.

"If a stripper wanted to marry you, you would do it," Zayn said.

"You're totally the doctor type," Louis agreed. "And you'd be the first one to bail us out of the situation. And when things don't go right, you'd be the one yelling, 'What the fuck is going on?'"

He screeched the last part, imitating Ed Helms' character.

"OK, well Louis, you'd be Alan," Liam smirked. 

"And I take that as a compliment, Liam. Let's face it, Alan is the funniest."

Zayn laughed. "Yeah, and he also says the most stupid shit." 

Louis paused at that one.

"So I guess I'm just Phil by default, then?" Zayn wondered. He thought about that before adding, "there are worse comparisons out there."

Once the first movie ended, the boys started a second one. After a few minutes of debate, they decided on  _Superbad._

"Do you know what kind of foods are shaped like dicks?" Liam spoke along with Jonah Hill's character.

"The best kinds!" The other three yelled in response.

They paused the movie for a minute when Liam got a phone call from downstairs telling them that their pizzas had arrived.

After taking a break to get food and more beer, they sat back down to finish.

"Do you think we would be any different if we had different names?" Niall wondered as he took a huge bite of his pizza.

Louis gave him a look. "What are you talking about?"

"Well think about it," he started to explain. "Fogell got the name McLovin on his fake ID and the cops thought he was the coolest person alive. What if he went with his other choice and got Muhammad as his name instead? Would they have still liked him?"

"You're really thinking that hard about a character from  _Superbad?"_ Zayn smirked.

"I'm applying it to real life, Zayn! Isn't that the point of a good movie?"

"I guess so. I mean, they do say that your name shapes who you become."

"Yeah, I don't think I would be the same person if my name was like... Steven or something," Louis thought. 

"Sure you would. We would go around calling you Stevie T," Zayn laughed.

"Please don't." Louis shook his head quickly. "You know, Zayn, I could see you being a Marcus, though."

That stopped the laughter. "Why would I be a Marcus?"

"I don't know, you have that Marcus vibe about you," Liam contributed.

"I do not. I have a Zayn vibe about me."

"Who are we kidding?" Louis asked. "You have to be named Zayn. Vain rhymes perfectly with it."

"I'm not vain."

"Sure, Marcus. Of course you're not," Louis teased.

Zayn ripped off a piece of his crust and chucked it at his roommate's head. 

The third movie that they decided to watch was probably a mistake. They chose  _Grown Ups._

About halfway through, Niall, once again, posed a question about what they're watching.

"We won't be like them, right?"

"If you mean best friends even when we're adults, then yes, we will be like them," Louis answered, trying to deflect the question.

"No, I mean... Will we stop being friends after we move away from each other?"

"Hell no," Zayn responded quickly. "I won't allow it."

"There's no way," Liam agreed. "We have Skype and texting and Facebook and about a million ways to talk to each other."

"And if all else fails, we can always email, or..." Louis pretended to gasp, "call each other!"

"Oh, the horror!" Niall laughed.

"And besides," Louis continued, "I need you guys to be around to make sure I don't become some rich Hollywood asshole whose kids only drink Voss water."

Zayn smiled, catching the movie reference. "And I can't be a stay-at-home dad with no backbone. I  _will_ find a job. And ASAP."

"I'll help you with that," Liam said, "as long as you don't let me be a guy who says his child is 48 months because the kid is still breast-feeding."

"We got your back, Liam. Just make sure I don't become a guy who marries someone way older than him who says words strangely."

Louis, Zayn and Liam all smiled at each other.

"What?" Niall asked, confused. 

"Hate to say it, but we can really only help you with one of those," Louis smiled.

"Which one?"

"The first one," Liam answered. "You won't marry someone who's like, 100, but you do say a couple of things weird."

"Like what?"

"Well, when I first met you, it took me a week to realize that when you say 'turdy,' you mean 'thirty.'" 

"Oh. Sorry."

"No worries, you little leprechaun," Louis grinned. "Not your fault you lived in Ireland until you were fourteen. Some of it was bound to stick."

Niall nodded his head. "It's all just part of my charm, anyway."

"Your Lucky Charms?" Zayn smirked. 

Louis and Liam couldn't concentrate on the movie anymore. They were laughing too hard watching Niall pounce on Zayn. 

\---

Wednesday was full of packing. 

Liam and Zayn got most of their stuff together as their parents were coming to campus that night to get part of what they didn't need for the next two days.

Niall was out for the day with Josh, so he managed to avoid helping. So of course, it came down to Louis to help.

"How is your closet this full, Zayn?" he complained. "Did you keep any clothes at home?"

"Of course I did. This is the stuff I wear all the time."

"Oh really?" Louis proceeded to pull out a black T-shirt with the tags still on. "You wear this all the time?"

Zayn blushed. "You can't have too many black shirts, Louis."

"Have you seen my gray sweatpants?" Liam asked, walking into Zayn's room. "The Taylor ones?"

"Yeah, Harry has them," Louis said nonchalantly. 

"Why would Harry have my sweatpants?"

"Because I let him borrow them. You're the closest in size to him."

"Seriously? And you didn't even ask me?"

"Relax, he still has them. And he washed them."

"Did he put them in the dryer?" Liam shrieked. "They're gonna shrink!"

"No, you crazy person, I told him he has to hang them up, and he did!"

"Oh, OK," Liam said. "Why did he need to borrow my sweatpants anyway?"

"He didn't want to wear his jeans on Friday when he went back to his dorm."

Louis was unable to hold back his sly smile when he thought back to Thursday night when Harry stayed over after the party at the office. They had definitely had a lot of fun using up some of the leftover chocolate syrup that Louis still had.

"Eww," Zayn muttered, noticing the grin.

"Maybe Harry should just keep the sweats," Liam said, walking out of the room. "I don't want to know the reason behind that smile."

Around 5:00, Liam's mom and Zayn's parents showed up to take what they could.

Zayn switched cars with his parents so that they could load up the futon in the back of his pickup truck. They packed most of his duffel bags and a few shelves around it to attempt to keep it from moving. Zayn's dad strapped it down to keep it secured.

After helping with the futon, Louis helped Liam and his mom load up some of Liam's stuff into the back of her car. It was mostly clothes, DVDs and storage containers; same as what Zayn had.

About an hour and a half later, the parents left, and the roommates returned to their apartment. 

"Wow," Liam breathed out when they shut the door behind them. 

There wasn't much different about the kitchen and the living room, but the atmosphere was entirely changed. 

It was the realization that hit them: that in just two days, all four of the boys would be moved out. Zayn and Liam's rooms were half-empty, containing only their television sets, enough clothes to last them until Friday, books for school and posters on the wall.

Louis and Niall's parents were coming on Friday to help take everything home, so Louis knew the two of them would be packing tomorrow. 

Maybe he could recruit Harry into helping him pack, too. 

Zayn, Louis and Liam ate dinner and then started a FIFA tournament. 

Around 8:00, Niall came slowly walking in.

The boys paused what they were doing to watch their roommate's movements.

Niall sat down in one of the armchairs and kicked off his sneakers.

"You alright, Ni?" Liam inquired gently.

The blonde boy shrugged one shoulder and just stared at his lap.

"Josh leaves tomorrow," he said as an explanation. 

"You want to play FIFA?" Louis asked. 

"Sure," Niall said, taking a controller from Zayn.

Louis and Niall started up their game. And if Louis played worse than he usually did and let Niall win, then so be it. 

\---

On Thursday, it was Louis and Niall's turn to pack. 

Niall started in the morning, now mostly back to his cheery self. He got a lot done before he left for his final in the afternoon. Louis began once he got back from his presentation, which he nailed. He also decided to hand in his paper that morning instead of waiting until tomorrow. It was finished, he was satisfied with it and he knew it wasn't getting any better.

As he undid the buttons on his dress shirt, his phone went off, showing a message from Harry.

**_Harry: Come help me pack. Pleaseeeeeee?_ **

Louis smiled at the text. 

**_Louis: Was planning on asking you the same thing! Come over here first? Pleaseeeeee?_ **

Louis put the phone down and looked around his room to see what he had to do. He wanted to take his posters down and of course, pack up his clothes. His DVDs were already in a storage bin, and so was most of his stuff. He didn't bring any cooking utensils in, so that wasn't an issue.

Right, clothes and posters then.

 **_Harry: Fine. Be there soon._ **

Niall, Zayn and Liam all announced they were leaving for their scheduled finals or presentations then, and Liam said not to wait up, since he was staying with Dani for the night.

Twenty minutes later, Harry came strolling into the room, where Louis was folding clothes into a suitcase.

"Hey, babe," he greeted easily.

"Hi," Louis smiled, leaning up to get a kiss from his boyfriend.

"Where are we starting?"

"Well, you're a giant, so can you start getting my posters down? I honestly don't remember how I got some of them up in the first place."

"On it." 

They worked in a comfortable silence, letting the music from Louis' iPod fill the room.

An hour later, Niall came back from his final and walked in.

"How's it coming?"

"It's all right," Louis said. "We're kinda done, really. I mean, I kept most of my stuff in drawers, anyway."

"Same here," Niall agreed. "What are you guys doing for dinner? We don't really have any food left here."

"I sort of wanted to hit Trailblazer's, use up some of our last Dining Dollars. We can wait for Zayn to get back and go around 5?"

"Works for me. I'm gonna take a nap, though. So wake me up later?"

"You got it."

Niall left the room and Harry stood up to stretch. 

"Can we take a nap, too? My final this morning kicked my ass."

Louis nodded and moved the suitcase on the bed into the hallway.

He texted Zayn to let him know of the dinner plan and set an alarm for 4:45 before he wiggled into the bed next to Harry, cuddling in close to him.

When the alarm went off two hours later, he groaned and turned it off.

Rolling over to face Harry, who seemed to not have heard it, he lightly nudged his shoulder.

"Haz, wake up," he spoke softly.

"No," Harry grunted.

Louis rolled his eyes and got out of the bed to go to the bathroom, and also to wake Niall up.

He walked into the living room and saw Zayn half-asleep on the couch, headphones in his ears.

The two of them nodded in greeting, and Louis walked into Niall's room.

"Ni, wake up," he said loudly, shaking Niall's shoulder more roughly than he did to Harry.

Even then, Niall didn’t even budge.

"Dinner's ready!" he yelled into Niall's ear.

"What is it?" he asked, popping up from his pillow. 

"There isn't any dinner, you idiot. We're going to Trailblazer's, remember? Get up."

"You lied to me?" Niall pouted, lying back down. "Rude."

Louis chuckled. "Just get up." 

After going to the bathroom, he walked back to his room to find Harry still sleeping in the bed, now lying on his back.

Louis smirked and shut the door behind him. He knew how he would wake up his boyfriend. 

He slowly climbed in the bed and slid down under the covers.

He grabbed the top of Harry's boxers and pulled them down to his thighs.

Grabbing Harry's dick in his hand, he licked a few stripes up the underside of it, before kissing the tip.

He heard a sharp intake of breath above him, but Harry's eyes weren't open yet. 

Louis used his other hand to gently massage Harry's balls and gave kitten licks to Harry's length at the same time.

He smirked to himself when he heard Harry moan lightly as his cock started to harden.

With one more lick, Louis took Harry in his mouth, sinking down slowly. He swirled his tongue as he went, and started bobbing up and down. 

Harry gasped and opened his eyes now, moaning when he looked down at Louis working on him. He spread his legs open more but soon after tried to push them back together when Louis took his hand from Harry's balls and started massaging his rim instead. 

Harry groaned, reaching one hand down and threading his fingers into Louis' hair, pulling tight.

Louis picked up his pace on his bobs and pumped his hand around Harry's cock in time to them.

He increased the pressure on Harry's hole, as well, getting a sense of satisfaction when Harry whimpered, throwing his other arm over his eyes.

Minutes later, Harry is coming undone, coming down Louis' throat, with only a "Louis..." as a warning. 

Louis watched him as he pulled Harry's boxers up. His breathing was heavy, and there was a light layer of sweat across his body. He could stare at Harry like this all day.

When Harry caught his breath, he returned the favor for Louis, swallowing every last drop when Louis came, too.

"Can we go to dinner now?" Harry asked once he's finished.

Louis laughed, still coming down from his orgasm high. "Give me a minute, I feel like you just sucked the life out of me through my dick."

At 5:10, Louis, Harry, Zayn and Niall were making their way to Trailblazer's for probably the last time. They went a little nuts, buying extra food since they all had extra Dining Dollars left over. And if they didn't use them, they wouldn't roll over. Not that it mattered much to Louis and Zayn, who wouldn't need Dining Dollars ever again after tomorrow.

After an hour, they finished eating and said their goodbyes, with Niall and Zayn returning to the apartment and Louis and Harry walking to Harry's dorm.

"Holy shit," Louis said, walking into the room. 

"I know. It looks awful in here, doesn't it?"

'Awful' was right. The room was so empty, and Harry still had a lot of his stuff unpacked.

"When did Jake leave?"

"Yesterday," Harry answered. 

All of Jake's stuff was completely gone, making the room feel colder. It was easier to see the beige cinderblock walls and the plain brown wood of the furniture.

"I don't like it," Louis stated.

"Me either. I didn't like sleeping here last night, it was so lonely."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've come over here, or you could've come over."

"Yeah, but Niall was upset. Plus, I figured you guys should spend more time together before you all move out tomorrow."

"You're so sweet," Louis complimented, kissing him on the lips. "I'm staying here tonight, then."

"OK." Harry smiled. "Let's get started."

So the boys spent the rest of the night packing up Harry's side of the room. 

It took them longer to pack up Harry's stuff than it did Louis', because the two of them keep stopping to steal kisses and reminiscing on their year together.

Before they went to sleep, they made love. Slowly.

Harry thrusted in and out of Louis at an easy pace and they kissed lazily. They took turns sucking marks onto each other's chests and nuzzling into each other's necks.

Louis clung to Harry's biceps when Harry reached one hand down to gently stroke Louis' cock.

They were both quiet and they took their time, memorizing each other's bodies and the way that they move. The way each other's heated skin felt to the touch. The way they wrapped around each other as they came at almost the exact same time. 

"I love you," they reminded each other before they fell asleep peacefully.

It was exactly the opposite the next morning when they woke up and Harry fucked Louis into the mattress. 

It started when Harry sucked Louis off while opening him up. He was three fingers deep, stretching Louis out when the older boy came for the first time.

Giving Louis less than a minute to relax, Harry slipped his fingers out and put on a condom.

"Ready?" Harry asked, lining himself up to Louis' hole.

Getting just a nod, he slid in and almost immediately started thrusting. 

Louis was allowed to be as loud as he wanted, as Harry's floor was mostly empty, with just a few students that still had finals to take. 

"Oh, Harry, fuck me harder!" he yelled out. 

So Harry did. He picked up his pace, aiming for Louis' prostate on each thrust, loving the sounds coming from Louis.

"Shit," Louis breathed out, looking down at the sight of Harry entering him over and over again.

"Oh my God," he whimpered, as the sound of slapping skin on skin filled the room.

Harry leaned down and roughly kissed him, not waiting to force his tongue in and lick all around Louis' mouth.

Louis groaned and pulled back.

"Harry, fuck, I'm gonna..."

"Not yet," Harry grunted. He reached around and pulled Louis' legs up and hooked them around his shoulders, almost bending him in half.

He continued to plow into Louis, who was a sobbing mess beneath him at how good he felt. Every inch of his body was buzzing from his first orgasm and the second one he was about to have.

"Harry, kiss me," Louis pleaded, the want to come evident in his voice.

Harry leaned in and planted another kiss on his lips. This one was gentler than the last one, though.

"Come for me, Louis, go ahead," Harry whispered in his ear.

Louis let out a loud moan as he fully unraveled, completely giving up control over his body and squirting white, hot fluid between them. 

He wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and stared deep into his eyes. The boys held eye contact until Harry was coming, a shudder taking over Harry's entire body as he spilled deep into Louis, filling the condom up.

"That was probably the best we've ever had," Louis forced out as he tried to catch his breath. 

"Probably?" Harry smirked. He rolled off of Louis, gently pulling out of him. 

"OK, definitely," Louis grinned, watching Harry pull off the condom and tying it up. He threw it into the trashcan and beamed down at Louis.

"When do we need to be back at your place?'

"My mom's coming at 10:00 to get part of my stuff. So, before that."

"Well that gives us a little more than an hour, then. I'm gonna need a shower if I'm gonna meet your mom."

"Meeting my mom, it's about time."

"Is she gonna like me?" Harry asked, suddenly unsure of himself.

"Of course she will. It's impossible not to like you, Curly. Pretty sure I've told you that before." 

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, but..."

"No but. Come on, let's go shower and eat breakfast. We should still have some cereal left in the kitchen."

A half hour later, the boys were walking to Louis' place, hand in hand.

"There you are! I was about to send out a search party," Liam scolded.

"Sorry. We didn't hold you up, did we?"

"Nah, it's cool. But I did want to get a move on. We just finished loading my car up."

Zayn and Niall were packing up the cooking stuff, all the pots and pans now in boxes, with the lids still open.

"Can't believe this is it, man," Louis said, sweeping Liam into a hug. "Three years of living together and it all comes down to this."

"I know, we won't be roommates in September."

"You're gonna make me cry again, Liam, stop it," Louis joked, wiping fake tears from his eyes.

"I know, I know, I'm leaving. I'll see you all on Monday, right?"

The four other boys nodded in agreement. 

"And you know what I was thinking we could do?" Liam asked. "I have a ton of notebooks and other shit from the past four years I've been dying to get rid of..."

"Is your fire pit finished?" Zayn inquired with a smile on his face.

"It is. Dad finished working on it a few weeks ago. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Bonfire?" Niall answered.

"Hell yeah. Bring whatever else you want to burn with you and we'll do it."

"You know what we need to do, too?" Harry asked. "We haven't played tag in a while."

"Should we have a bonfire and then play some tag one last time?" Louis grinned.

"It goes without saying, but yeah, looks like that's the plan."

"Perfect. I guess come around 6 on Monday night? Dinner. Bonfire. Tag." Liam looked to his friends for confirmation. 

When he got it, he gave them all one last hug. "Alright, see you guys Monday."

Liam gave the room one last look before walking out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

"Before we all get too emotional, let's load my car up, too?" Zayn asked.

They spent some time packing Zayn's car up before sending him off, as well.

"We'll see each other all the time over the summer, Louis. Just like last year," he mumbled into Louis' shoulder when he hugged him.

"I know, but it won't be the same," Louis pouted.

"Shut it," Zayn said. "Listen, grad party at my uncle's house, yeah? Not sure when, but pool will be open, we'll get the grill going, have some drinks. And you guys can all stay the night. How's that?"

"Better," Louis said, the upper corners of his lips rising into a smile.

"Good." Zayn gave Niall and Harry a hug before getting into his car. "It's been real, gentlemen."

"See you," Niall and Harry said.

"Love you, man," Louis stated.

Zayn gave them one last smile before he's pulling out of the parking lot and away from the building.

"And then there were three," Niall said glumly.

"My mom should be here soon. Let's make sure all of my stuff is done?"

The three of them returned to the apartment and finished what still needed to be done.

The kitchen was now empty, almost all of the cooking equipment going home with Liam or Zayn. The living room was empty except for Niall's X-Box and Louis' mini-fridge. The posters had all come down and all that remained were the couch, chairs and coffee table, which were provided by the school.

Liam and Zayn's doors were locked, so they were empty. The bathroom was empty, with all of the boys' hygiene products thrown away or packed up.

Louis' room was all packed up into boxes and suitcases, with just the furniture from the school left behind.

Niall's room was bare, with only his TV still plugged in to get him through the rest of the day.

"When are you leaving?" Louis asked his roommate while they help themselves to a bowl of cereal.

"My mom gets done work at 3, so hopefully around 5:30 or 6. Harry, do you want to get dinner before I go?"

Harry nodded, a smile on his face.

Louis smiled, too. He knew that Harry had a final today at 1:30, so he wasn’t moving out until tomorrow. His mom and stepdad were coming down in the morning to take all of his stuff home. 

His mom texted him then, saying she just got off the highway and would arrive in a few minutes.

He emptied his cereal in the trash and cleaned out the bowl, drying it and packing it into the last box for Niall to take with him.

He returned to his room and triple checked to make sure he didn't leave anything in a drawer before locking the door behind him. 

Louis put his room key into an envelope filled out with all of his information and left it on the counter with Zayn's and Liam's for the housing office to collect tomorrow.

"Where's Niall?" he asked Harry when he comes into the kitchen.

"He went to get your mom. She's here." Harry looked nervous.

"Hey, stop that. She'll love you." Louis kissed him, hoping to help him relax.

"I hope so," Harry replied. He knew how important Louis' mom was to him. 

Niall came back in then with who Harry assumed was Louis' mom. She had brown hair just a little darker than Louis', and was laughing at something that Niall had just said, familiar crinkles gathering up around her bright blue eyes.

Louis yelled and swept the woman up into a big hug.

"I missed you," he said into her ear.

"Missed you, too, Boo Bear."

"Mom, stop. I'm 22." Louis pretended to pout when he pulled back from her.

"So? You're still my baby boy." She then pinched his cheeks and laughed when Louis just groaned at the interaction.

Harry and Niall chuckled at the exchange. Niall then nudged Harry's shoulder and left the room to give the group some privacy.

"Anyway..." Louis started, squirming away from his mom, "Mom, this is Harry. Harry, this is my mom, Jay."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Harry said, extending a hand to shake. 

Jay looked at the hand and swatted it away. "You're my son's boyfriend, sweetie. A handshake is not acceptable," she said and pulled him into a warm hug.

Harry was caught off guard by the embrace, but leaned into it. He looked at Louis over Jay's head and saw that his boyfriend had a wide smile on his face. He didn’t hesitate to return the smile and add a wink, as well. 

Now that everybody had been introduced, Louis, Jay, Harry and Niall packed up Jay and Louis' cars. It took them much less time than they thought it would, completing the task in just twenty minutes.

"Alright, well I hate to cut this visit short, but it is Friday, and I have a lot of stuff to do," Jay stated.

Harry already knew that he liked Louis' mom. She reminded him a lot of Harry's own mom, to be honest.

"Harry, Niall, I assume I'll see you both at graduation?"

The two boys nodded in agreement and gave her one more hug before she had to go.

"Louis, I'll see you at home?" she asked.

"Yup, I'm not far behind you." They gave each other a hug, too before she got into her car and headed for home.

"OK, I'm going upstairs," Niall declared. "I need a shower after all this moving. Harry, you hanging out here or going back to your dorm?"

"I need to head back, I want to look over my notes one more time."

"Cool. Well, Louis, it's been real." He gave his roommate a big hug.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, man. Look after my boy next year, yeah?"

"Absolutely not. I'm gonna get him drunk every night and let him get on academic probation and then get himself kicked out of college."

"Well obviously, that's what I meant," Louis joked. "See you on Monday, then?"

"Yup." 

Niall gave a small smile at him, not ready to leave yet.

"OK, one more hug," Louis said. He really would miss his roommates.

"Alright, I'm good now," Niall stated sadly after their embrace. Then he took a deep breath. "See you in a few days."

"Bye, Niall," Louis said.

"See ya, Lou. I'll see you for dinner, Harry?"

Harry nodded in agreement, and then Niall turned and walked back into the building.

"I'll drive you back to your dorm?" Louis asked Harry. He nodded again, not saying anything.

The boys got into Louis' car and headed back for Harry's dorm, holding hands for the whole two-minute drive.

When they got there, Louis parked his car outside of the nearly deserted building. He switched his hazard lights on and got out of the car with Harry.

"So I'll see you on Monday, then?" Louis asked.

Harry didn’t say anything, just watched Louis with red-rimmed eyes.

"Baby, don't do that," Louis pleaded. He didn’t want to see his boyfriend cry any more than he wanted to cry himself. "Come here."

He wrapped his arms tightly around Harry, holding him closely. He reached one hand up and stroked the back of Harry's neck, trying to help calm him down.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Harry mumbled into Louis' neck.

"I'll miss you, too." Louis promised. "I kind of miss you already, to be honest."

Harry sniffled at that. 

"But listen," Louis gently pulled away to look up into Harry's eyes. "We will see each other all summer. Every weekend we can, I'll drive up to you, or you can come down to me. And we'll Skype and text and everything in between those weekends. We're going to be OK, I swear."

"I know," Harry sniffled again and gave a little smile. "This just sucks, is all."

A tear peeked up in the corner of Harry's eye.

Louis buried his face in Harry's chest, trying to hide his own tears that are threatening to show. 

"I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Harry said in a husky voice.

"I will see you on Monday," Louis promised, looking back up into Harry's eyes. "OK? This isn't a goodbye, this is 'I'll see you later.'"

Harry nodded, resting his forehead against Louis'. 

"I love you," Louis repeated. His breath faltered slightly. 

"I love you," Harry stated, in that same husky voice.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to Louis'.

This kiss was gentle, but firm at the same time. Louis moved his hands up Harry's back, resting his hands against his shoulder blades, while Harry cupped Louis' face in his hands.

Their lips moved against each other's in a smooth rhythm, and Harry tilted his head to deepen the kiss. 

Louis leaned in as much as he could, not wanting to leave any space between the two of them, because he didn’t want to face what would happen next.

Once the boys were breathless, they reluctantly pulled apart.

"Monday?" Louis asked.

"Monday." Harry confirmed, pressing one more kiss to Louis' forehead.

They unwrapped their arms from around each other, and Louis got into his car, Harry shutting the door behind him.

Louis turned the car on and buckled up his seat belt. 

He looked out the window at Harry, who blew Louis another kiss.

Louis pretended to catch it, bringing a smile to both of their faces.

Then Louis was driving, pulling away from the curb and down the street.

He waited until he couldn't see Harry in the rearview anymore before he let the tears fall from his eyes.

_It's not a goodbye._

Harry waited until Louis drove around the corner before he walked back into his building. Only then did he let his emotions overtake him, tears streaming down his face, one at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only 3 chapters left!


	36. Moving On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh!! 10,000+ hits! You guys are incredible!  
> <333
> 
> Anyway, so sorry for taking a week to update! But I wrote most of this today, so if it sucks, I'm sorry!
> 
> Wait! Also, any spelling errors by Liam were fully intentional. I did proofread this before I posted it. Haha.

"Louis, stop whining."

The boy in question rolled his eyes as his mom dragged him into the next store on Saturday afternoon.

"Mom, this is ridiculous. I have plenty of dress shirts and pants. I don't need any more."

"Quiet," Jay scolded. "This is your college graduation; you need a new outfit. Let's go. Do you have a color in mind?"

"Yeah, red."

"OK, red's nice." She started browsing through a rack. "Let's look for a red shirt."

"Yeah, that way when I shoot myself out of boredom at graduation, my blood will blend in with the color of my shirt."

"Louis, you're terrible! Stop that!"

"What? Just being honest."

"You'll be graduating," Jay said, "there's no way you'll find that boring."

"Sure I will," he replied, looking through a pants rack. "We have to be there at 10 in the morning. There are at least five different speeches, each one sure to be longer or less interesting than the last. Then they have to call each and every student up to the podium. Meanwhile, I can't sit with my friends, only hope to be somewhat near them because my last name is nowhere near any of theirs in the alphabet. On top of that, it will be the last day that I'm ever sure to be on campus. Obviously, I want to visit next year, but who knows when that will be? It could be weeks. Months, even. And I have to say goodbye to the office and all of the memories I've built up over the last four years. Does that day really sound that fun to you?"

Jay wrapped an arm around him and pulled him in close to her.

"Not when you say it that way, no. But you're starting the next chapter of your life. This is what you've been working for since you were a kid. You've always wanted to be a journalist, and now you can be. You have the degree to show how talented you are and soon, you'll have the job to prove it."

Louis smiled. "You sound like Harry."

"Do I?"

"Yeah, he had to give me a pep talk, too."

"Did he now?"

Louis just nodded, thinking back to that night in his room.

"I knew I liked him," Jay praised.

"You talked to him for like, a minute."

"Yeah, but we did a lot of packing together. And I got to see you two interact with each other. And I could just tell that he'd be good for you."

"How?"

"Because I'm your mother. I know these things. I also knew all those months ago when you came home for the weekend and you were just extra happy."

"How did you know then? I hadn't even told you his _name_ at that point."

"No, I didn't know Harry's name, but I knew that there was somebody in the picture. Again, I'm your mother."

Louis sighed because of course, she was right. Jay always had that extra intuition when it came to his love life. And not just his, either. She always knew when Lottie or Fizzy liked a new boy, even if they weren't being super obvious about it. 

"Anyway..." Jay started. "Let Harry know that he is absolutely required to sit with us at graduation. Niall, too."

"Harry will be with you guys. He still has to meet the girls. But I think Niall is sitting with Josh's parents, so maybe you guys can all sit together."

"Sounds great. OK, how about these?"

Jay turned toward Louis and holds up a pair of black dress pants.

"These are your size, right?" Jay asked, even though Louis knew she already had his sizes committed to memory. 

He nodded, although he wasn’t really able to spot a difference between this pair and the several other pairs of black slacks he had in his closet.

"I'll try them on as soon as I find a shirt. Maybe a light blue?"

"Light blue?"

Louis nodded again. "Yeah, what do you think?"

"I like it. No more red, huh?"

"Nah, no more red."

\---

On Sunday afternoon, Niall was bored out of his mind, anxious to go to Liam's tomorrow so he could see everybody. 

The plan was to go to Liam's on Monday, sleep over Monday night, go to graduation on Tuesday and sleep over again Tuesday night, since they would be on campus all day, and Niall and Harry didn't want to drive all the way home late at night.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see Josh until Graduation Day. His mom was making him stay at home and drive up to campus with them. She used the excuse that since he was the first one in his family to graduate from college, she wanted to be there every step of the way. 

Although, she would probably use the same excuse when his brother Ben graduated from his school, saying that since he would be the last one in the family to graduate, she wanted to see everything he did.

Whatever. But he just didn’t know what to do now, so he opened up a group message with the guys about tomorrow. 

**_Niall: I'm boreddddddd._ **

**_Louis: Sounds like a personal problem._ **

**_Zayn: Go tell Josh all about it._ **

_**Niall: Can't. He's at a family pre-graduation party.** _

_**Liam: wtf is taht?** _

_**Niall: Exactly what it sounds like. Family party where everybody praises him for almost graduating.** _

_**Harry: Sounds totally boring.** _

_**Niall: Not the way his family does it. There's bound to be lots of alcohol and food. Probably cake. Josh'll probably drum something for them.** _

_**Liam: taht dose sound pretty sick** _

_**Niall: It does. If I wasn't so far away, I would've gone.** _

_**Louis: Sorry, man. on the plus side, little more than 24 hours til we see each other!** _

_**Zayn: reunited and it feels sooooo gooooood** _

_**Niall: Would it be weird to say that I miss you guys?** _

_**Zayn: Yes.** _

_**Harry: No.** _

_**Liam: No.** _

_**Louis: Yes.** _

_**Niall: Oh, OK. Thanks.** _

_**Zayn: Just kidding. I miss you guys. It was weird sleeping in my own room this weekend.** _

_**Harry: Louis! Tell him you miss him, too!** _

_**Louis: Fine, fine! i miss the shit out of you guys. Happy?** _

_**Harry: Ecstatic.** _

_**Louis: I cried myself to sleep knowing that I wasn't sharing a wall with Zayn anymore.** _

_**Zayn: Shut up, Lou.** _

_**Liam: hey what ar eyou gys wearing to graduation** _

_**Niall: Nice segue.** _

_**Louis: Black dress pants and a blue button down. Mom made me get new stuff.** _

_**Zayn: Black dress pants and a black dress shirt.** _

_**Liam: tie?** _

_**Louis: Hell no.** _

_**Zayn: Yeah.** _

_**Harry: Louis, you have to wear a tie.** _

_**Louis: Do not.** _

_**Niall: Yes, you do.** _

_**Harry: I'm gonna tell Jay.** _

_**Louis: Since when are you on a first name basis with my mom?** _

_**Harry: Since she added me on Facebook.** _

_**Louis: WHAT?!** _

_**Zayn: Hahahahahahahaha** _

_**Liam: tha'ts awesome!** _

_**Niall: Louis, your mom's on Facebook? I'm gonna go add her, too.** _

_**Louis: No you won't. When did she add you?** _

_**Harry: This morning. Relax. I'm not actually gonna rat you out to your mom.** _

_**Louis: So not the point!** _

_**Harry: What is the point?** _

_**Louis: Just, don't talk to my mom about me. it's weird.** _

_**Harry: I know it's weird. I won't have in-depth conversations with her about how your life choices have shaped you into the person you are today or anything. Duh.** _

_**Louis: Good.** _

_**Harry: But if she posts an adorable throwback picture of you, obviously I'm going to like it.** _

_**Louis: Fine.** _

_**Liam: anyway... dad says were gonan grill tomorow night** _

_**Zayn: Yes!** _

_**Niall: We're still doing Wal-Mart, too? Gotta pack my Nerf guns.** _

_**Harry: Definitely!** _

_**Liam: we are. dont fogetto bring shit to burn, to. for the bonfite** _

_**Louis: Will do! I got a bag full of notebooks i've been wanting to get rid of for years** _

_**Zayn: I don't have that much to burn actually. I'll just be there for the s'mores.** _

_**Harry: Same.** _

_**Niall: I got plenty.** _

_**Liam: cool. bring good snaekers to for tag. heard thers a new ntie magnager** _

_**Harry: What?** _

_**Zayn: Liam, can you spell one sentence right for once?** _

_**Louis: He said to bring good sneakers for tag. Apparently there's a new night manager** _

_**Liam: you knwo i cant spell** _

_**Niall: Oh.** _

_**Harry: Got it.** _

_**Zayn: Glad we got Louis as a translator.** _

_**Liam: fuck off.** _

_**Harry: How were you Executive Editor if you couldn't spell?** _

_**Liam: dani took care of spelling** _

_**Niall: Must be nice.** _

_**Zayn: How were you an editor at all if you couldn't spell?** _

_**Liam: spell chekc** _

_**Louis: Which you clearly could've used just now.** _

_**Liam: uggghhhh...** _

_**Louis: Love you, Li!** _

_**Liam: whatever. i'm getting ready for dinner. see you guys tomorrow.** _

_**Louis: Hey, you spelled that all right! How much effort did that take?** _

_**Liam: i hate you.** _

_**\---** _

Zayn double-checked to make sure he had everything he needed.

Sweats to sleep in for the next two nights?

Check.

Blue polo shirt, khaki pants and sneakers for tag? 

Check.

Graduation outfit?

Check.

Clothes to wear on Tuesday after graduation and to wear home on Wednesday?

Check.

Along with the other essentials: deodorant, toothbrush, underwear, socks, etc., he was all packed.

"Zayn!" his mother called from downstairs. 

"Yeah, mom?"

"Did you pack your cap and gown?"

_Shit._

"Yeah, of course!"

He started scrambling around his room to find them. 

"Good. I don't want a repeat of your high school graduation, when I had to run home ten minutes before the ceremony started to get them because you forgot to bring them with you."

"Yeah, right, Mom," Zayn pretended to be offended at the thought. "They were the first things I packed."

At last, he found the still wrapped cap and gown under his book bag that held the few notebooks he wanted to burn tonight.

"Nice spot," he muttered to himself.

He put all of his stuff together before flopping back on his bed.

It was just after 5:30, and Louis would be arriving to pick him up any minute. They figured it would be easier to carpool since they were staying over Liam's both nights and were going all the same places anyway.

Zayn shut his eyes, thinking back on how his life had changed over the past two years since he transferred to Taylor. 

When he graduated from high school, he didn't have a clue what he wanted to do with his life. He liked to draw and take pictures and that was about it. English was all right, too, he guessed, but in his father's eyes, his interests really didn't pan out well for a career.

And that's what Zayn started to believe, too.

So he went to community college, taking a bunch of bullshit basic classes in Math and History, before picking up random electives he really didn't have any interest in. 

But toward the end of his second year there, he realized that he could turn Art and Photography into a career. He took an art class second semester and loved it. His professor even encouraged him to pursue Art when he transferred to a four-year school.

That, plus his obvious talent in the subject, prompted him to tell his dad that he was going to declare an Art Major when he started at Taylor in the fall. 

Let's just say that his dad wasn't happy with the decision, and several arguments took place over the next few months. But it was all worth it. His dad had come around, and now supported his choice, although he did still worry about what Zayn was going to do after graduation.

He hadn't landed a job yet, but Zayn was trying not to dwell on that too much and remain positive about his future.

His future that would start tomorrow afternoon, in fact.

He heard an obnoxious beeping outside and knew that Louis had arrived. 

He grabbed his bags and went downstairs, quickly reminding his mom about the details for tomorrow.

Then he was out the door, finally able to reunite with his friends. 

\---

"Louis, back up!" Liam yelled.

"What?" the older boy protested. "I'm fine!"

"You're gonna burn your face off, idiot; take a step back," Liam pulled the oldest boy back from the fire pit before the embers from his burning notebooks could jump up and scorch him.

"Ugh, you guys are no fun." Louis pretended to pout, sitting back in his chair next to Harry. 

"Yeah, excuse us for wanting you to keep your eyebrows and whatnot," Niall rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his beer. 

The boys had already eaten dinner and the sun had thankfully set. It was warm earlier today, but the temperature outside was now in the mid-50s and slowly dropping.

Once the flames died down a bit, Zayn elected to roast another marshmallow for his s'more. "So what's everybody doing over the summer?" he asked.

"Driving to Philly," Niall answered.

"I _meant_ , for like work and stuff," Zayn clarified. "I already know that I'm just gonna be looking for real jobs until I actually find something, but what about you guys?"

"Same thing," Liam responded.

"I'm working at a sports camp near my house," Niall stated. "I worked there last summer, too. Basically teaching kids how to play soccer and football and whatever else we think of."

"Can't see you being good with kids," Liam said.

"Hey fuck you! I'm great with kids."

Liam nodded his head sarcastically at the response.

"Well, I have my summer class. And I'm working at a summer camp at the day care I worked at in high school," Harry contributed. "I think I'm with the preschool kids this year."

"You worked there last summer, too, right?" Zayn asked, pressing his roasted marshmallow in between his chocolate and graham crackers.

"Yeah, it was fun. A lot of fun, to be honest. And the pay was good."

"Can't beat that," Liam said.

"I get to start my new job soon," Louis admitted quietly, not sure if it came off as bragging or not.

"What day?" Niall inquired. 

"June 2. It's a Monday. I work 9-5 every day, like a real grown-up."

Harry beamed at his boyfriend from his seat next to him.

"Who would've thought that Tommo would be the first of us to become an adult?" Liam joked, throwing another notebook into the fire to keep the flames going. 

"I didn't see it coming, to be honest," Louis jumped in. "I thought for sure that I would spend the rest of my life lying around on the couch, watching my sisters and keeping them away from boys."

Harry grinned. "You can still do that, just on the weekends." 

"On the weekends when I'm not driving up to see you, you mean?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah, how is that gonna work for you guys, anyway?" Liam inquired. "I mean, Dani is only 45 minutes away from me, and when she's at school, she'll only be 20. I can't imagine what a 2 hour difference would feel like."

"It's gonna suck," Louis answered, "but it is what it is. Right, Niall?"

The blonde boy nodded. "Yeah, Josh and I have at least two hours, but it'll work. A lot of Skype dates. A lot of texting."

"A lot of meeting up in the middle for the day," Harry continued.

"A lot of work, basically," Louis finished with a shrug of his shoulders. 

"But when it's with the right person, it's worth it," Harry said.

"Definitely," Niall agreed.

"God, that was so cheesy," Zayn smirked, throwing a marshmallow at Louis' head.

"Oh, really? We're starting that now?" Louis reached behind him to find the bag with all the food in it and flung a few graham crackers back at Zayn. 

"Hang on a second," Zayn held up a finger and took the last bite of the s'more he still had in his hand. 

When he finished chewing, he slowly walked over to the bag and picked up a few marshmallows. He then threw them right at Louis' face before taking a few steps back. 

"You should know by now not to mess with me at food fights, Malik!" Louis chased after him clutching marshmallows and chocolate pieces in his hands.

"No! Don't waste the food!" Niall yelled.

\---

"Are we ready?" Harry asked as he finished lacing his sneakers.

It was almost 2 a.m., right on time.

"I think so," Liam said. "We got all the Nerf guns in my trunk."

"We're all dressed accordingly," Zayn commented, looking around at the five of them all in matching clothes.

"If our journalism careers don't work out," Louis started, "we could always start a boy band. We have the outfits for it."

"Yeah, OK," Niall scoffed. 

Once the boys were ready, they piled into Liam's SUV and headed over.

"OK, so same rules apply as always. Avoid the grocery section. If you think someone's onto us, send out a group message and warn us. Also, I think that we should go in in two groups, just in case this new night manager Liam talked about is a real hard-ass," Louis said.

It was strange to hear a strategy that sounded more like they were headed into battle, not a 24-hour store.

"What are the groups?" Niall asked.

"I think Liam, Zayn and I should go in first, scope out the place and make sure we're all clear. Harry and Niall, you guys come in a minute or two later."

"OK." Harry nodded and looked out the window, completely missing the mischievous look shared between the graduating boys.

When they arrived, they all got out, pulling their weapons out of the trunk. 

Louis, Zayn and Liam ran off, shielding their Nerf guns so that not even Harry and Niall could see which guns they brought, leaving the other two to wait by the car.

"Think we'll get kicked out this time?" Niall asked. 

Harry shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe. If this new manager actually pays attention to us running around the store. Not like it matters, though. The three of them never have to come back if they don't want to."

"Yeah, I guess so," Niall sighed.

After two minutes had passed, the two boys walked inside.

There was no one around, and the boys were confused.

"Maybe they went to put stuff in their carts first?" Niall wondered.

But Harry noticed that all of the carts were still plugged in by the entrance.

"No, something's not right," he said. 

The two of them walked further into the store.

"I hope they didn't get kicked out already," he continued. 

All of a sudden, the three boys jumped out from behind a DVD display and sprayed Niall and Harry down with water guns.

"What the fuck!" Niall exclaimed. "Where are your Nerf guns?"

"New version of tag, boys," Liam grinned.

All three of them held two water guns, not the Nerf guns that Harry thought they had brought with them.

"Oh, by the way, there's no more rules." Louis winked. 

Then the three of them ran off again, leaving the two younger boys to stare after them.

"What do we do now?" Niall asked, rubbing the water out of his eyes.

Harry double-checked to make sure his two Nerf guns were full and ready to go.

"We go to war," Harry smirked, looking over at Niall.

Niall grinned at him, and the two of them went off in search of the others.

At first, they stuck together, not sure where to start once they made a left toward the cookware section.

But after a few minutes, they decided to split up once they saw that the other group had already done so. 

"Think fast!" They heard to their right as Liam jumped up from behind a shelf holding pots and pans and sprayed them again. Before Harry could get a shot off, Liam was sprinting deeper into the store.

"He's alone," Niall said, "maybe we should separate, too."

"OK, you follow Liam, I'll go around toward the electronics and stuff. Maybe we can herd them together or something?"

"Works for me. Stay alert."

"Be safe."

The two of them walked off in different directions. Harry walked slowly down the center of the aisle, keeping his gun at the ready. He kept his eyes open for any signs of sudden movement. 

From behind him, he heard a door open and jumped in between two clothing racks. He relaxed when he saw that it was just a few of the employees coming back from the break room. 

That's when he felt cold water trickling down his back. 

He seized up at the sudden sensation and heard a "love you" whispered in his ear before Louis ran toward the back of the store.

Harry tried to get a shot off, but missed when Louis ducked down.

"Damn it," he swore to himself. He grabbed the back hem of his shirt and tried to shake out some of the water before he moved on.

A few minutes later, he found Niall again. 

The two of them ducked down behind a display of throw pillows to talk about what they had so far.

"Louis got me near the women’s' department," Harry admitted.

"It's cool, I got double teamed by Liam and Zayn just now," Niall confessed, shaking out his wet hair. 

"You haven't seen the new manager or anything, have you?"

"Nah, just a few employees. This place is like a dead zone at this time of night, remember?"

Harry nodded.

Just then, they saw Zayn walk by, look down at the two of them and smile. He kept moving.

"Go," Harry and Niall said to each other. 

While Harry ran up the side of the aisle so that he would cross paths with Zayn if he ran to the right, Niall went full on after him.

Zayn started running when he realized that Niall was, too.

He turned left down an aisle and kept moving, attempting to lose the younger boy. 

Niall sent a few darts toward Zayn, but missed when he started to zigzag his way through the aisles.

It wasn't until he ran through the greeting cards that he heard it.

"Duck!"

Zayn fell into a crouching position and kept moving as Liam ran up from the other side of the wall and sprayed Niall right in the face. He slipped and fell at the sudden contact.

"Oh, come on!" Niall yelled.

Liam and Zayn high-fived and jogged away.

He sighed and started to get off the floor.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Niall looked up at the new voice and saw a manager-type looking guy walking toward him.

He was probably in his late twenties or early thirties, but he had the face of a man much older and more serious.

"Is that a Nerf gun? Oh, you have to come with me."

"Shit," Niall muttered. This must be the new manager.

Instead of going willingly, though, Niall jumped up and ran like he stole something.

"Come back here!"

He looked back and saw that the manager was coming after him, so he looked forward and used the same strategy Zayn had just used on him.

He started crossing aisles and ducking down behind various displays, trying to get rid of the guy. 

Once he got to the Toys section, he finally lost him, sinking down to the floor to catch his breath.

He leaned his head back against the wall and took out his phone to warn the guys.

 **_Niall: Found the night manager. Just chased me through the store. Lost him in toys._ **

Niall smiled to himself after he sent the text. 

A few aisles over, in the bike section, Zayn felt his phone go off. He checked it and read the message before realizing that Niall was close, meaning the manager might be, too.

Zayn swore and ducked down, walking slowly to the end of the aisle. He peeked out and looked to his right, not seeing anybody.

He looked to the left and saw Liam shuffling down toward him. He waved him over and the two of them knelt down together.

"We gotta get out of here," Liam whispered to him. 

"I know, but we have to find the others. Where's Niall?"

"Why would I know?" Liam asked. "Somewhere in Toys, I guess?"

Zayn nodded, and the two of them moved to find him.

Across the store, Harry was looking out for his friends. He hadn't seen anybody since he lost Zayn, but was sure that Niall had found him since he was close behind him.

"Psst!" he heard behind him.

Harry turned around to see Louis, gesturing for him to come over in the shoe aisle.

"Don't act all nice now, Louis," Harry said, not keeping his voice down. "I can't believe you shot me, you dick!"

Louis' eyes widened at the outburst and tried to shush his boyfriend.

"Don't tell me to be quiet," Harry responded, shooting his Nerf gun at Louis.

Louis rolled his eyes and grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him down to the ground behind the wall.

"Will you shut up!" Louis hissed.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, suddenly realizing that something was going on.

"Didn't you check your phone?"

Harry checked his pockets, his shoulders slumping when he realized he didn't even have it.

"I must have left it in the car."

"Good thing I found you, then. Niall got chased by the night manager. Guess he's pretty uptight about us having water guns in the store. We have to move, since I'm not actually that sure if we're breaking any laws or anything by doing this."

"OK, but where are the others?"

"Maybe near the toys? We can check there since that's where Niall lost him."

Harry agreed and they started walking quickly in the other direction. They were just about to pass the bike section when they saw Zayn, Niall and Liam emerge from near the gardening tools. 

But before they could say anything to each other, they saw what must be the night manager storming up to them. 

"So you're with that other kid, huh?" he said, facing them. His back was to the others, so they hadn't been spotted yet. "Let's go."

His name tag read "Harvey."

So he did the only thing he could think of. He quickly glanced back to see the other three watching them with wide eyes, unsure of how to react. 

Then, he hosed down Harvey before yelling out, "Run!"

He and Harry turned and ran back the way they came, toward the shoes. 

Louis could hear Harvey yelling after them as he ran, too. He didn't know if the others ran, too, but he hoped they were smart enough to run straight for the exit. 

"Shit," Louis yelled as they almost collided with an employee rolling a cart out of a back stockroom.

Harry grabbed his hand and led him down the middle of the store so that they were running past the kids' clothes, toward the registers. He looked toward the exit and saw the other three were just crossing an empty register, darting along the wall toward the way out. 

"This way!" Louis shouted, pulling Harry down another aisle, just as he saw Harvey running toward them on the right.

Another employee came out just then, telling them to stop, so Louis and Harry started moving diagonal away from them, their path leading them into the jewelry department.

They narrowly avoided running into a counter at the speed they were going, and moved off to the side.

Now they were in the grocery section, and were almost out of the store. 

Jumping over a few crates of fruit and dodging another employee's attempt to grab them, they were out the door.

"Come on! Let's go!" They heard from Liam's car, the back door wide open. 

Zayn was waving from the back seat, while Niall was clapping his right hand on the door out of the open passenger window.

Louis leapt in the car and Harry climbed in after him. 

The second the door was shut, Liam hit the gas and sped off. 

"Bye, Harvey!" Niall yelled out the window.

"That was insane," Louis forced out through labored breathing. "I haven't run that fast since high school."

"I can't believe you sprayed him with your gun, Louis," Liam laughed from the driver's seat.

"I panicked! I didn't know what to do!"

"It was brilliant, though," Harry complimented.

"You do realize we can never go back there, though," Niall realized. "Right, Harry?"

"Let's be honest, it's not like you would have had that much fun in that store without us, anyway," Zayn said.

Harry grinned. As much as he wanted to, he just couldn't deny how true that statement was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess now might be a good time to tell you guys that I'm working on another fic? That's why it's taken me so long to post a new chapter. I've been kinda wrapped up in my new one.  
> It's not related to this one at all. So once the last two chapters to this story have been posted, I'm gonna take a mini break for a little bit, because I'm pretty excited about this other story. I'm still tweaking the plot line and everything, but overall, I have a good idea of what will happen in it.  
> No hints! Just know that it's another Larry fic, and as far as I can tell, it's an original idea.  
> Don't worry, though! I will be returning to The Taylor Times soon (if you guys want to see that happen). I'm already thinking of a sequel to Monday Meetings, as well as a possible one-shot that will happen over the summer before the sequel starts.


	37. Best Day of My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter.  
> **Also, sad ending to this one. It's graduation, what do you expect?

Harry woke up before his alarm on Tuesday morning wrapped around Louis, his nose buried in the older boy's hair.

He looked down at Louis still sleeping and felt his heart swell with pride. Harry was just so happy for him, reaching the day that they thought would never come. It was bittersweet, to say the least. But it had to happen; life goes on.

His alarm was set to go off at 7:30 - in seven minutes - so Harry just lay there, not bothering to move.

It would be fun to see if they could successfully get five boys fed, showered, dressed and styled so they could be out the door by 9:30.

Although, considering they were in Liam's house, and Liam spent the last nine months telling them all what to do, maybe Harry shouldn't be too concerned about it. 

He heard the flushing of a toilet down the hall and assumed the noise was why he had woken up. He picked his head up off his pillow to look around the room. Niall was the only one missing from the circle the five boys had formed when they were getting ready to go to sleep last night. 

Sure enough, a moment later, the blonde boy walked back into the living room. 

He lay down under his blanket and propped his head up on his pillow to look at Harry. 

"You ready for today?" Niall asked his future roommate.

Harry shook his head 'no.'

"Yeah, me, either," Niall agreed with a small smile, laying his head down to rest for another few minutes.

Harry sighed and shifted under his blanket. 

It was bizarre to think of how his life was different from a year ago. At this point last year, he had just been a boy with a crush on his older coworker. He had been much more shy and reserved, completely unable to form a thought around Louis. And forget about talking to him about anything relevant.

And now look at him - snuggling with the boy he'd crushed on for so long, when just hours before, they were holding hands as they ran away from a disgruntled Wal-Mart manager. 

When Harry was in high school, he hadn't been the most popular kid. He was just Harry, the kid who always had a camera slung around his neck and didn't say much. He was Harry, the boy who worked for the newspaper and yearbook and was voted 'Friendliest' and 'Best Hair' for the senior superlatives when he graduated. But he was also Harry, 'that gay kid,' once he came out halfway through senior year. People usually didn't give him a hard time about it, and for that, he was always thankful, but it was obvious that they wouldn't view him the same way they did before, not even the kids he had known since elementary school. 

He had a small group of friends - Aiden included - that struggled to remain intact once they graduated. Sure, Harry kept in touch with a few of them, but it was nothing like it was when they all went to the same school. 

So he started to view college as a fresh start. He made new friends, joined the newspaper and learned what it was like to not be judged for his sexuality. And because of that, he met Louis, the boy that he now loved so dearly. 

The boy that wouldn't sit still now, even in his sleep. It was like he knew the alarm would be going off in just a minute. 

Harry smiled and leaned in and kissed him square on the mouth, effectively waking him up as the alarm went off.

Louis giggled as Harry struggled to find where he threw his phone last night, the two of them still kissing. 

"Shut the fuck up," Zayn grumpily mumbled into his pillow. 

"Sorry," Harry apologized once he pulled back from Louis. 

At last, he found his phone, turning off the Marimba ring tone.

"We're graduating today," Liam spoke, staring up at the ceiling.

Louis buried his face into the crook of Harry's neck at Liam's words. 

"Congratulations, by the way," Niall said with a grin.

"Thanks, man."

Slowly, the five of them started moving. Liam's mom was cooking breakfast for all of them and Liam volunteered to get the first shower so the rest of them could eat. 

One by one, they all switched out to start getting ready, helping each other tie their ties and properly lace up their dress shoes. 

Just before they had to leave, Niall turned on the school radio station while they made final adjustments to their hair and outfits. 

"If you're just tuning in, this is 107.7 KVR, bringing you all the hits from Taylor University. Just want to send out another congratulations to all 1,056 students graduating today. It's been four years, maybe more, of stress, homework, studying and just wanting to quit. But you all made it, and that deserves some recognition."

The DJ played a clip of applause, and Louis, Zayn and Liam all laughed at each other.

Before he spoke again, a familiar tune started playing, but Louis couldn't place it.

"And since this will probably be the best day of your life, so far, of course, we're dedicating this next song to you graduates. This is American Authors with 'Best Day of My Life.'"

And sure enough, the starting music to the song continued. 

Louis smirked and turned up the volume as the lyrics began.

 

_“I had a dream so big and loud_

_I jumped so high I touched the clouds,_

_Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh,”_ Louis sang along.

 _“Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh,”_ the others echoed back to him.

_“I stretched my hands out to the sky_

_We danced with monsters through the night_

_Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh.”_

_“Oah-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh.”_

 

_“I'm never gonna look back, woah_

_I'm never gonna give it up, noo_

_please don't wake me now,”_ Harry took over, nuzzling his nose into Louis's neck.

 

 _“This is gonna be the best day of my life,”_ the seniors sang, throwing their arms up in the air.

 _“My li-i-i-i-i-ii-ife,”_ Niall and Harry echoed.

_“This is gonna be the best day of my life.”_

_“My li-i-i-i-i-ii-ife.”_

 

As the song continued, the boys encouraged Liam and Zayn to continue singing the song. The two of them looked back and forth between each other before deciding on who would go next.

 

_"I howled at the moon with friends_

_And then the sun came crashing in_

_Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh,"_ Zayn sang.

 _“Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh,”_ the other boys repeated.

 

_"But all the possibilities_

_No limits, just epiphanies_

_Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh,"_ Liam kept going, with a grin on his face.

_"Oah-oah-oah-oah-oah-oh-oh."_

_"I'm never gonna look back, woah_

_I'm never gonna give it up, noo_

_just don't wake me now,"_ Niall concluded the verse.

 

The boys sang the chorus again together, and once that part ended, they found themselves huddled in a group hug. The song finished playing, but the five of them didn't move. 

It was only when Liam's mom called out to them asking if they were leaving soon that they broke apart, not a dry eye in the group.

\---

"Mom, what do you mean you don't know where the rec center is? I've been coming here for four years!"

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked with Louis toward the place in question. His boyfriend was on the phone with Jay, attempting to find a place to meet up with her. He gripped Louis' hand tighter, as he remembered that he would soon be meeting Louis' sisters and Jay's boyfriend. 

Louis shot him a reassuring smile, though, sensing the sudden tension coming from Harry.

"All right, well we're out front of it now, so just meet us here when you can. Just walk right out of the parking lot, and it'll be down the road on your right."

After a quick 'I love you,' Louis hung up the phone. 

"Don't be nervous," he said to Harry immediately.

"I'm not nervous." Harry shook his head unconvincingly. 

"I'm sure you're not." Louis smiled. "They'll love you, don't worry. My mom already likes you; she's making you sit with her during the ceremony. And I told Niall that once he finds Josh's family, he's to find you, too, so you can all sit together."

Harry nodded at the information, scanning the growing crowd.

"There she is," he stated a few minutes later. 

He spotted Jay making his way toward them, along with a man a few inches taller than her who must be Dan. He had light brown hair, blue eyes and light stubble along his rounded jawline. 

Just behind them, were Louis' sisters. They all had the same round eyes as Jay, with similar pouty lips. Three of them were blonde, and one was brunette like Jay was. But they resembled Louis instantly when they all smiled, eyes crinkling, at the sight of their big brother. 

"Louis!" they called out.

The boy turned toward the sound and beamed as the four girls walked faster toward him. He let out a yell and started running toward them, meeting them in the middle and managed to gather all of them up in his arms, giving them a big hug.

Harry smiled, watching the siblings exchange "I missed you," and "We're so proud of you." He didn't want to interrupt Louis with his sisters, so he walked over to Jay when she waved at him.

"How are you, sweetie?" Jay asked, giving him a hug, as well.

"Good, Jay, how are you guys?" Harry replied.

"Wonderful, thank you. Harry, this is Dan, Dan this is Harry," Jay introduced.

"Nice to finally meet you, Harry. I've heard a lot about you," Dan said, giving Harry a firm handshake.

"All good things, I hope?"

"Of course, of course." Dan smiled.

Before Harry could say anything, Louis came shuffling over, sisters in tow.

"OK, Harry, these are my sisters: Lottie, Fizzy, Daisy and Phoebe."

He pointed at each of them as he said their names, and Harry smiled at them all when he did. He guessed that Lottie and Fizzy were in their teens, while the twins were probably around ten or eleven.

" _You're_  the guy who's dating our brother?" Lottie asked once the introductions were over.

"Yeah..." Harry said, nervous all over again that his sisters wouldn't like him.

"Really? Because, like, he's such a loser and you're pretty hot."

"Seriously? You're gonna flirt with my boyfriend in front of me?" Louis turned on his sister, annoyed.

"Not like it would be the first time," Fizzy joked.

"Shut up, Fizz."

"Don't tell her to shut up!" Lottie jumped back in. 

"Yeah, don't tell me to shut up!"

"I'll tell you both to shut up, I'm the oldest!"

"Like that means anything!"

And suddenly, the three of them were arguing over nothing. 

Jay and Dan rolled their eyes as if this was a usual occurrence. 

Harry watched with a wide smile at the siblings interacted, and it made him miss his own sister.

He looked down and noticed the twins staring at him. He knelt down so he could talk to them and hear them better.

"Are they always like this?" he asked them.

"Usually," Phoebe said.

Harry nodded and looked up at the trio still arguing, now resorting to trying to cover each other's mouth so that one of them could speak. It was quite funny, to be honest.

"So you're dating Louis?" Daisy asked.

Harry nodded. "I am."

"Do you guys kiss and stuff?" Phoebe wondered.

Harry blushed a little. "Yeah, we do." 

_And way more than kissing, but let's not go there._

"Do you love our brother?" Daisy inquired.

Phoebe looked at him curiously at that question, too. 

"I absolutely do," Harry said without hesitation. 

"Good. Because he should have somebody that makes him smile the way Dan makes our mom smile," Phoebe stated.

"And like Aaron makes Lottie smile," Daisy continued.

"And like someone will make Fizzy smile, one day."

Harry looked back and forth between the two of them, loving how they finished each other's thoughts.

"I can do that," he told them. "I plan on being around for a while, so get used to me."

The twins smiled at him then, and before anything else could be said, he heard Liam yelling toward them.

"Louis! We have to go! We need to check in!"

Louis stopped talking over his two oldest younger sisters long enough to check the time on his phone. "Oh, shit!" he swore, seeing that it was already 10:30.

"I mean..." he tried to correct himself, remembering the twins were present. "Oh, man! I'm running late. Gotta go!"

With one last hug to his sisters (fight between him, Lottie and Fizzy completely forgotten), Jay and Dan, Louis wrapped his arms around Harry, hoping for one more good luck embrace. 

"You're going to do so well," Harry whispered in his boyfriend's ear. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you," Louis whispered back. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They kissed then, ignoring the fake gagging sounds coming from Louis' sisters.

"I'll see you after," Louis promised, walking away. As he did, he knocked his shoulder into both Lottie and Fizzy.

"Come on, Harry," Lottie grinned, taking one of Harry's arms, "you can sit next to me."

Louis grunted at her as he walked away, picking up his speed to an anxious looking Liam. 

\---

"I don't see him," Niall complained, straining to get a view of the stage.

"Niall, Josh is like ten people back, you won't be able to see him yet," Harry reasoned, although, he had his camera ready to attempt to capture Josh walking across the stage.

They weren't standing too far away from the graduates. They could see the faces of the Dean and the students when they received their "diplomas," at least. 

"Candace Colbert," the announcer said. 

The names were going quickly, thankfully. There were over 1,000 people to get through, so Harry wanted the people he didn't know to hurry up so his friends could go.

"I'm not gonna miss him, am I?" Niall asked.

"No, you won't miss him. I see him waiting. He's looking for you, too."

That much was true. Josh was scanning the massive crowd in attempts to find his family and boyfriend.

"Ashley Davidson. Benjamin Robert Davis."

The announcer continued, and when he got to Monica DelRusso, he nudged Niall.

"This is it."

Niall jumped up on his chair, much to the annoyance of the people behind him, but Niall was paying them no mind. Josh's brother Ben was also on a chair, recording a video on his phone.

"Joshua Devine."

Harry started snapping pictures and cheering, hoping to get at least one clear one while Niall threw his arms up in the air and gave the loudest cheer he had ever heard. Before Josh left the stage, he turned toward where he heard Niall still yelling and blew him a kiss.

Harry didn't bother holding back his smile for his friend, as Niall finally jumped down from his chair. 

"You really kept your cool there," Harry said.

"Shut up."

Closer to the stage, Zayn sat in his chair, craning his neck to see Perrie. Josh had just gotten his diploma, so he knew that Perrie was probably in line to get hers.

"Brooke Nicole Durham."

_Shit._

Zayn had his phone out, ready to take a video from where he was sitting, which was in the middle, about 20 rows back. Then he saw her. How he missed her platinum blonde hair was beyond him, but he guessed it was because it was mostly tucked under her black graduation cap.

He started recording once Michael Easton started walking across the stage, seeing that Perrie was next.

"Perrie Louise Edwards."

He started cheering, but made sure to do so away from the recorder of his phone so it wouldn't catch too much of his voice.

And just like that, she was off the stage, but she threw him a wink before she did so. 

"You get it, Zayn?" 

He stopped the recording and looked to his left, where Stan was sitting. The two of them only had two people separating them, a set of twins, actually. 

"Got it all. You ready for this, Lucas?"

Stan shrugged. "I guess so. Ready as I'll ever be. You going to the office after this?"

Before the ceremony started, Liam texted everyone saying to meet at the office exactly one hour after it ended. That gave them time to take pictures and talk to their families first. 

It was one final senior send-off before the new editors came in and took over.

"Hell yeah; wouldn't miss it," Zayn scoffed. 

"Good. I'm really gonna miss that place. I've only been here for two years, but it feels like a lifetime."

Zayn just nodded in agreement, not trusting his voice not to waver at all.

One row back and about ten seats further down, Liam sat biting his nails. He knew he had some time left to go before he had to get his diploma. They were only on G now. He was being silly.

Dani had texted him about ten minutes ago saying she got stuck in traffic, because there was an accident on Route 1. So while she should've been on time, she now wasn't sure how long it was going to take her to arrive.

The minutes ticked by and people continued moving up in line.

"Stanley Lucas."

Liam stood up and cheered for his friend, who raised a fist in the air as he left the stage, and remained standing when Jacob and Jenna Malcolm received their diplomas, as well.

"Zayn Javadd Malik."

He laughed when Zayn looked at him and held his arms out as if to say, 'Can you believe it?'

But then his row of people stood up to start making their way to the stage, and he had to send a frantic text to her to find out where she was.

 _**Dani: On campus! Literally running to you! <33** _

Liam was happy that she was here, but he wouldn't be able to relax until he saw her. What if she missed watching him walk across the stage? Of course, he was happy to have his parents and both of his sisters there, but he wanted Dani there, too. 

The names continued on, and Dani still hadn't arrived.

"Francesca Oliver."

Liam was only five people away now, and he was looking near the edges of the crowd to find that familiar curly hair.

Two more people were called up, and Liam accepted the fact that Dani wouldn't see him get his diploma.

"Gregory J. Palladino. Samantha Parsons."

This was it. His name was going to be called.

"Liam James Payne."

He heard the screams from where his family must be. He walked across the stage and shook the Dean's hand, taking his diploma from him.

Then he heard her. He looked out in front of him, and Dani was there, standing under a tree, yelling his name and clapping her hands.

Liam got so caught up grinning that one of the professors on stage had to nudge him along so the students could continue.

Still in his seat, Louis finished clapping for Liam, laughing when his roommate stopped dead in his tracks to look at something in the distance and a professor had to tell him to keep it moving.

Well, he was the last one. The last one in his group of friends to get across that stage.

Another row of students got up and began walking toward the podium. 

His row would be next to get up, and Louis hoped they would hurry up.

The minutes dragged on as a bunch of people that Louis didn't know, and some that he did, walked up to get their diploma. Louis wished that his life was like the movie  _Click_ right now so that he could just fast forward through it all.

Finally, his row stood and moved toward the stage. He was near the end of it, so he would be shaking the Dean's hand sooner rather than later. 

He wondered if everyone else felt like this as they walked up the steps. His heart was racing, but he wasn't nervous any more. He was more excited than he'd ever felt before. 

"Jessica Lynn Timmons."

Two more people. That was it.

"Christina Tobias."

One more. He looked out to find Harry, and saw his giant of a boyfriend looking even more massive, standing on a chair, camera pointed at the stage.

"Rebecca Todd."

He wanted to tell the Rebecca girl in front of him to hurry up, because this was it, his moment to shine.

"Louis William Tomlinson."

He beamed as he took in the sounds of cheering and yelling from the crowd, walking to shake the Dean's hand.

"Congratulations, Louis," he said.

"Thank you."

Once he reached the end of the stage, he looked back at Harry and mouthed, 'I love you.'

'I love you,' Harry mouthed back.

"Awww," Niall cooed from his spot next to Harry.

"Shut up," Harry smiled.

\---

It was exactly one hour after the ceremony, and, as requested, Louis and Harry were making their way toward the newspaper office.

Louis had, of course, taken all of the required Graduation Day photographs: with his mom, with his sisters, with Harry, with his roommates, with random friends he'd found in the crowd. His face had started to hurt from how much smiling he was doing.

He said goodbye to his family once the pictures were all taken, reminding them that he would see them tomorrow, after he left Liam's house.

When they got outside of the building, they saw that the door was already propped open. 

"Hey," Harry said, stopping Louis.

Louis raised his eyebrows in response.

"You graduated today."

"I graduated today." Louis grinned. He leaned in, kissing Harry right on the mouth. "Now come on," he said, pulling Harry inside the building.

They walked quickly down the hall and pushed open the door to the office, finding Liam, Dani, Niall and Stan already inside. 

Liam was just starting a story as they walked in.

"Niall, do you remember when you threw your sneaker at the bee that was hovering over your desk, and then you ran inside Harry's office to hide from it because you missed?" 

"Oh my God, that was terrifying!" Niall exclaimed. "I really thought it was gonna kill me."

"Then why did you throw your shoe at it?" Stan questioned.

"It was buzzing over my head! It was annoying the shit out of me."

"So you needed to make sure you actually hit it," Dani laughed. "Your aim was off by a lot, wasn't it?"

"Whatever. I tried, and that's what was important. None of you guys even bothered with it."

"Because we didn't want to get stung, Niall," Louis jumped in.

"Are we talking about Niall's bee story?" Perrie asked, walking in with Zayn.

"Yup," the rest of the group confirmed.

"I was terrified that day," Perrie continued. "I thought that it was gonna get angrier when it didn't sting you and then come after me. My desk is the closest one to yours in here."

"Well, nobody got stung! Another important part. And the bee did leave the office, eventually," Niall said.

"Yeah, like, four days later," Liam stated. "We came in for a Monday meeting and it was just magically gone."

"Probably went out the same way it came in," Harry said.

"That's what he said," Zayn muttered with a laugh. 

"Eww," the group moaned. 

"Did that make sense?" Perrie looked as though she was really thinking it through.

Zayn shrugged, not really caring if it did or not.

"What about that day the server was down, so we took turns seeing who could get pushed down the hallway the furthest in just a rolling chair?" Dani asked. 

"Yeah, that was awesome," Niall grinned. "I flew down there, man."

"I, of course, was the only one that fell over," Harry sighed.

Louis smirked. "Yeah, babe, you're naturally clumsy, even when you're sitting in a chair." 

"Remember how Josh almost crashed into that girl who was coming downstairs to do her laundry?" Liam laughed, clapping his hands.

"Lucky she had fast reflexes, otherwise Josh would've knocked her right on her ass!" Stan added.

"Who am I knocking on her ass?" Josh asked, finally walking in.

"There you are," Niall greeted. "I was starting to think your mom kidnapped you or something."

Josh shook his head, walking over to his boyfriend's side. "Nah, she didn't. I convinced her to let us all take two cars to come up here today, that way I could hang out with you guys for a little bit. Lucky I did, otherwise I would be headed back to Philly right now. So, who was I knocking over?"

"That girl you almost crashed into when we pushed each other down the hallway in our chairs," Louis answered. 

Josh threw his head back laughing. "That was classic! You should've seen her face up close, it was priceless." 

"Yeah, I'm sure she really appreciated almost being taken out by a rolling chair holding a drumming sports editor," Dani laughed. 

"I can't believe this is it," Louis sighed, after a moment had passed.

"It's not gonna feel right without you guys here," Niall whined.

"Don't start that now," Perrie scolded. "You are so ready to move on without us. And you'll be seniors! You have so much to look forward to!"

"Although, you will have a lot of high expectations to meet," Louis said with a grin.

"Absolutely," Liam agreed. "I expect to see you guys win a lot of awards this year."

"You have such a great staff to work with," Stan continued. "All of the newbies are well-trained and they'll do a good job."

"And you know they will," Josh finished. "All of them."

He raised his eyebrows at Louis then, who grinned back. 

"We'll just miss you, that's all," Dani said.

"Agreed," said Harry.

Louis nodded his head and then silently walked over to his desk. Well, now Cher's desk.

He opened the drawer and pulled out a Sharpie. 

Feeling everybody's eyes on him, he uncapped the marker and started writing on one of the cinderblocks above his computer.

"Louis, what are you doing?" Liam wondered.

"Tagging the wall, what does it look like?"

"What are you writing?" Harry asked.

"Come read it."

The group moved over to where Louis was and read the caption he'd left behind.

_Cher,_

_You're amazing! And you will do such a good job being Opinion Editor._

_Make me proud!_

_Love, Louis_

_May 13, 2014_

"That's cute," Harry complimented, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Thanks."

"Can we do that?" Liam asked. "I mean, is that allowed?"

"It will be, because we're all going to do it," Dani responded with a gleam in her eyes.

With that, the other editors (and Zayn) found Sharpies around the office and went to work leaving messages for the people they were leaving behind.

Josh left something adorable for Niall, about how much he would miss working with him and being with him every day and Perrie left a funny message for Tyler, with some inside joke the rest of them didn't understand. Zayn wrote something in Harry's office, praising him for being such a good editor. 

Stan wrote something kind for Damien, and expressed his fondness for Leigh-Anne, saying how much he would miss her. Liam wrote something encouraging for Dani for when she returns to be Executive Editor, as well as something praising the staff as a whole. 

Of course, Louis made sure to leave a loving one for Harry in his office. After a lot of thought, he finally wrote: 

_Hazza,_

_You're the best Photo Editor I've ever had the honor of working with (although I may be a little biased)._

_We've had a crazy year, and it makes me so happy to know that it's only the beginning._

_I can't wait to see what life brings us next!_

_Have an amazing year, and don't miss me too much. Although, I'll absolutely be missing you._

_I LOVE YOU!!_

_Boo Bear_

_May 13, 2014_

He stood back and admired his work. Of course it would be sappy. It was for Harry, after all.

He walked back out into the main room to find everybody else reading the messages left on the walls and smiling. He looked over at Liam, who was staring at his former seat at the head of the table.

"You OK, man?" he asked his old roommate.

Liam nodded. "Good."

And Liam was good. He was great. Amazing, actually. He never saw this future for himself, though, to be honest. 

When he was younger, he was way less confident than he was now. And considering his start with Dani, that was saying something. 

All throughout school, he was pretty quiet, and in elementary school, his classmates used to tease him all the time. Liam doesn't even remember why anymore, just remembers the name-calling and laughing at his expense.

So he'd turned to writing. It was something he enjoyed, something that took him away from real life for a little while. He tried keeping a journal, but he never kept up with it. But when he got to middle school, his English teacher suggested he try writing for the school newspaper. The essays and personal narratives he was turning in always got an A grade, so why not?

And then he was hooked, and was for the next four years of high school, as well. His articles increased and improved, and the teasing decreased and eventually stopped. Although, sometimes Liam thought that was due to the growth spurt he experienced one summer and the muscle tone that he started to develop.

He found a group of friends that he could finally be himself with, who gave him the confidence to stand up for himself against people who tried to bring him down, and he owed that all to the newspaper.

So when he got to college, the first thing he did was find out how to join the paper. And he threw himself into it, knowing that he would find his friends through this one club. And he did. 

He met Louis, his roommate for three out of four years. He met Dani, his girlfriend who he was going to miss so much. And he found everybody else in his life. 

When he got the chance to be Executive Editor and make the paper the best that it could be, he was in no position to refuse. Because after all, the newspaper had made him the best that he could be. It was only right to return the favor.

He knew it was cheesy, but Liam found his voice through writing, and he also found out who he really was. For that, he would always be grateful, and probably wouldn't feel himself again until he found a new job on a new newspaper staff. 

But today, he would just enjoy graduating with his friends, and worry about the rest of that stuff tomorrow.

"Just gonna miss this place," he told Louis.

Louis nodded in agreement.

The group spent another hour in the office together, before eventually calling it a day. It had been a long one, after all.

"So this is it," Niall said, voice only slightly wavering. "For real."

The girls gave him a small smile, while the other boys just nodded.

"One last group hug?"

All nine of them brought it in, wrapping their arms around each other as best they could.

"So, keep in touch, all of you," Louis made them promise when they pulled apart.

"You're all invited to my grad party, too," Zayn said. "I'll message out the details as soon as I know them."

The other seniors said the same thing, telling their friends they had to come to their grad parties as well.

And then they left. 

Josh and Stan went out first, Josh giving Niall an extra long hug and kiss, telling him that they would see each other soon.

Before Josh went, though, he gave Louis and Liam a hug, too, saying that he would miss his fellow third-year editors the most, besides Niall, of course.

"It's a bond that can never be broken," Louis joked.

Then Dani and Perrie left after a sad goodbye to their boyfriends, as well, promising to text them when they got home.

Then it was just the five boys who were staying at Liam's house.

"So, FIFA tournament when we get back?" Niall wondered.

"Definitely," Liam responded. "Then my parents are cooking us dinner as congratulations."

Zayn grinned. "Sick." 

Harry and Niall walked out of the office first, agreeing to play each other in FIFA when they returned to the house.

Zayn soon followed, after giving one last look around the room.

Louis and Liam were alone now, and the air was thick with emotion.

"You're not crying, are you, Tommo?" Liam asked, looking at his friend.

"No," Louis sniffled. "I'm not crying, you're crying."

"Just a little bit," Liam took a deep breath, wiping at his eyes.

The two boys looked at each other before hugging.

"I love you, man," Louis said.

"Love you, too."

They stood there for a minute before slowly breaking apart.

"We have to go be adults now, don't we?" Louis said slowly.

"I think so."

"It's not fair."

"So unfair."

They laughed quietly, and then took one final look at the place where they had spent their entire college careers, literally working for this moment right now. 

"We should go," Liam sighed.

Louis nodded his head and reached behind him, flicking the light switch so that the room was now dark.

And then he walked out into the hallway, doing his best to hold in his tears as Liam shut the door softly behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is there only one chapter left? This is insane!


	38. Here's to the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. It's been an amazing journey, with lots of ups and downs (as I promised). I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll assume you did, since you stuck with me for 38 chapters and almost 150K words.  
> So, without further ado, here's the final chapter to Monday Meetings!
> 
> What was that? No. I'm not crying. I just have something in my eye. And I have allergies. Duh.

For the past two weeks, Louis had been feeling the strain of being a real adult. And so far, he had a love/hate relationship with it.

Last Monday, he started working at _South Jersey Daily_ , and he quickly realized just how much he had to learn about being a grown-up.

On his first day, he arrived ten minutes early, thinking that he would have some time to find his boss and figure out where anything important was.

Wrong.

He was quickly ushered to the editor he would be working under and then rushed into his first staff meeting. He thought he was prepared for that.

He wasn't.

Louis saw how the editors bounced off each other, talking quickly as if they would literally forget what they were saying if they didn't say it right that second. It was a change, to be honest, and Louis knew he would have to get used to it. _Taylor Times_ staff meetings were way more laid-back. And less rushed. However, those meetings were done for a weekly newspaper, not a daily one.

The meeting was done in less time than a  _Taylor Times_ meeting would've been done, and everybody got to work. He followed the editor he came in with, Nick Grimshaw, who was the Assistant Managing Editor for  _SJD._

"Grimshaw, huh?" Louis attempted at small talk as they left the meeting room. "You wouldn't happen to have a cousin or something named Aiden, would you?"

_Please God, say no._

"Why do you care?" Nick asked instead. 

"OK, then..." Louis muttered to himself.

"Here," Nick said. They had reached a row of desks, all equipped with computers and telephones for fact-checking and general research.

"This will be your desk," he gestured to the one on the end. "My desk is over there. I'll leave some work for you here in the morning, usually phone calls that need to be made or anything that needs to be double-checked. Schedule is as follows: 9 a.m. staff meeting, lunch is anywhere from 12-2, depending on when you have time to go, and evening staff meeting is at 4 p.m. Still with me?"

Louis nodded his head.

"Good. The contact list-," he points to a sheet of paper taped to the wall behind Louis' computer, "-is right here. It's got all the numbers and e-mails for the main editors and reporters in the office. If you have notes for anybody's article, e-mail it directly to them. If you call a source and ask some questions, type up the answers and send them right to the reporter. Again, if anybody needs any calls made or research done, they give it to me ASAP, and I give it out to you guys. Also ASAP. There are a few of you here, I'll introduce you later. I think that's about it for now. Think you can handle it?"

Louis couldn't believe how fast this guy talked. 

But he did think he could handle the assignments he would be given. And yeah, it sucked that he wouldn't be able to actually write anything yet, but it was a start.

So, he nodded his head at Nick, and got a quick tour of the office, hoping he would remember everything he saw.

Needless to say, after two weeks in a real office, Louis was excited to be back with his friends, people his own age who really understood him.

Unfortunately, he still woke up on Saturday morning, the day of Zayn's graduation party at his uncle's house, at 6:30. His body had quickly gotten used to waking up at that time for work. Lovely.

He lay there, trying to go back to sleep.

He drifted in and out for a while, but eventually gave up when his next-door neighbor started mowing his lawn at 8. 

So he started getting ready for the day. Zayn's party didn't start til 4, so he had plenty of time. He took a shower and ate breakfast. Then he packed his bag. Zayn invited everyone to spend the night at his uncle's house, so Louis made sure to have everything for tonight and tomorrow.

And then that was it. He was done by 10 a.m. 

So he put a pair of sweatpants on and turned on the TV. 

He was flicking through channels when he heard the doorbell ring.

Figuring someone else would get it, he ignored it.

"Louis! Get the door!" his mom called out.

"Seriously?" Louis said. 

But of course, he rolled off his bed and walked down to answer the door.

"Really?" he asked when he walked past the kitchen, where Jay, Lottie and Fizzy were sitting.

He opened the door and froze.

"Surprise!"

"Harry?" Louis asked, because right in front of him was his boyfriend. 

Harry grinned at him, knowing Louis was in shock, completely not expecting this at all. 

"Oh my God!" Louis yelled out before launching himself at Harry. "What are you doing here?"

Harry wrapped his arms around the older boy, pulling him close. "Just wanted to surprise you. Have some alone time before the party later."

"I'm so glad to see you," Louis mumbled. He leaned up and kissed Harry softly on his lips.

"Bring him inside!" Jay yelled from inside.

Louis rolled his eyes before taking Harry's hand in his own and taking him inside the house.

"Hi, Harry," Jay greeted warmly.

"Hi, Jay." Harry smiled. He let go of Louis' hand to hug her, kissing her on the cheek, as well. 

"Wow, you guys meet twice, and suddenly you're best friends?" Louis jokes.

"No, we're best friends since I set this whole thing up," Jay responded smugly. "You're welcome."

" _You_ set this up?"

"I told you she added me on Facebook." Harry said.

"Besides, I knew you missed each other, so why not do something to help?" Jay was clearly quite proud of herself.

"Mom, I don't know what to say..." Louis started.

"'Thank you' and a hug work wonders."

So Louis gave her just that.

"Come say hi to the girls, sweetie," Jay said to Harry. The boys followed her into the kitchen.

"Good morning, ladies," Harry greeted Lottie and Fizzy.

"Morning, Harry." 

Both of them got up to give him a hug, as well.

"What, no twins?"

"They're still sleeping; brats," Fizzy didn't even bother to contain her yawn as she sat back down in her chair. 

"I'm gonna go wake them up," Jay frowned. "It's already after 10, and I have a bunch of errands I need to run."

She walked out of the room in order to wake her youngest children. 

"So what do you want to do today?" Louis wondered. "I mean, before we leave for Zayn's party, obviously."

"You tell me," Harry said. "This is your town. What's there to do around here?"

"Nothing," Louis, Lottie and Fizzy say in unison.

"Why do you think I went away to college?" Louis asked. "It's a small town. Not much around. Bowling alley. Movie theater."

"Mall. Second movie theater," Lottie continued.

"Park and friends' houses," Fizzy finished.

"There, you just had a tour of the town and didn't even have to leave the house," Louis joked.

"Wow, that's kind of sad," Harry commented.

"Yeah, there's really nothing interesting or exciting to do in this town, unless you leave it," Fizzy grimaced.

"No, seriously, that's the saddest thing I've ever heard," Harry repeated.

The three Tomlinsons just shrugged their shoulders. 

"On that note, Fiz, we should start getting ready," Lottie said. She turned to the boys to explain where they were going. "Becca needs a dress for her parents' anniversary dinner, and she finally, possibly found one at the mall. So we have to go check it out. She's been looking for one for like, a month."

"Oh, good for Becca!" Louis faked excitement. 

"Shut up, Lou." Lottie rolled her eyes.

The two girls walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to their room, leaving the boys alone.

"So..." Harry started. 

"Yeah," Louis said. Suddenly, he had an idea. "You're wearing socks, right?"

Harry furrowed his brow. "Yeah. Unlike  _some_ people, I wear socks with my shoes."

"Funny," Louis deadpanned. "I'm gonna get changed and then we're going out. You actually owe me a date."

"I do?" 

"You do."

A half hour later, the boys found themselves at the town's bowling alley.

"I can't believe I forgot I promised to take you bowling for real," Harry said, upset with himself.

"It's OK, I kinda forgot, too," Louis admitted. "But we're here now, so let's play."

The place was pretty much deserted. Made sense, since it was barely 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning. There were only two other lanes of people playing: an older married couple on one lane, and a mom and her young son on the other.

Louis quickly put on his shoes and plugged in their names on the prompter. "I'm going first, since it was my idea."

He put his name as 'Tommo,' and Harry's name as 'Hazza' before he went in search of a ball.

Once Harry had his shoes on, he changed the names to 'Boo Bear' and 'Curly.' He likes those names better anyway.

He went to find a ball, too, and came back to see Louis standing with one hand on his hip.

"Really?" he asked, looking at the prompter. "You had to put 'Boo Bear' up there?"

"Of course, babe." Harry grinned. "We're in your town, what else could I put as your name?"

He walked over and kissed Louis on his forehead, laughing quietly at his boyfriend's reaction.

Louis sighed deeply and then took his turn, starting the game.

It didn’t take long for them to realize that any skill they had at bowling didn't transfer over from the Wii on their 'second date.'

"Wow, I literally suck at this game." Louis pouted, looking at his score a few frames in.

"You're still getting warmed up, relax," Harry said. "And besides, no matter how bad you are, I'll always be a million points behind you."

"True."

They bowled for three games before they got tired of it. After they returned their shoes, they stopped at McDonald's for some food and then drove around for a bit. 

"That's my high school," Louis announced proudly as they traveled past the familiar building. "Had some pretty fun times there, I guess."

"You were probably the class clown, weren't you?"

Louis scoffed, as if he was offended that Harry would even ask that. "Obviously."

"Looked kinda small, though. How big was your graduating class?"

"Less than two hundred. I think it was like, one hundred and ninety four? Around there."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, mine had a little more than three hundred."

"It's only because of another school district that's like, twenty minutes away from here. That district has over a thousand kids in each graduating class."

"What?! Why? That's like, my entire school graduating at once."

"That's  _more than_ my entire school graduating at once." Louis smirked, putting on the signal to make a right turn. "It's a big town, that one."

His phone went off in the cup holder.

"Can you check that for me?" he asked Harry as he continued driving.

Harry picked up the phone and unlocked it, reading the message.

"Oh."

"What?"

Harry read out the message from Louis' mom.

_**Mom: Twins and I are running errands. Be back later. If I don't see you before you leave for Zayn's, have fun! And see you tomorrow! <3 ** _

"So, my mom and the twins are out of the house?"

"Correct," Harry verified.

"And Lottie and Fizzy went to the mall?"

"Also correct."

"So, we have the house to ourselves?"

"Whatever will we do with an empty house?"

Louis answered by pressing down on the gas pedal and heading quickly back home.

\---

"Cannon ball!" Niall yelled, jumping into the pool. 

The party was in full swing, allowing everyone to be reunited in more than a month. 

Well, almost everybody. Louis and Harry still hadn't shown up yet. Suspicious.

The splash from Niall's dive soaked everyone in the pool even more and also managed to reach anyone standing a few feet away from it, as well.

Jesy, Jade and Leigh-Anne let out squeals from their spots in the splash zone when they were doused with cold water.

"Niall!" Liam scolded, twisting to avoid the water. "I've got food in my hands!"

"Sorry, man!" Niall said once he broke the surface. 

Liam rolled his eyes, placing the tray with just-grilled burgers and hot dogs down on the deck's large patio table. 

"Food!" Dani and Perrie said in unison, already sitting at the table, wrapped in their towels. 

"You guys act like you haven't eaten in years," Josh said. 

"You're dating Niall," Perrie reminded. "You're really going to say something about how _we_ react to food?"

Josh paused, trying to find a comeback for that one, but sadly, he couldn't. 

Zayn emerged from the house carrying plates and napkins. Stan and Eleanor were behind him, holding condiments, chips and rolls. 

"Alright, dig in," the host of the day called. 

The group started to eat, and the people who were in the pool toweled off to sit in a comfy chair to join them.

"So what time do you think Louis and Harry will get here?" Zayn asked once everybody had food in front of them.

"Whenever they're done... you know," Eleanor answered with a grin.

"Have they not seen each other yet this summer or something?" Perrie asked.

"Nope," Niall responded through a mouth full of food. "Harry said his job asked him to start working the week after graduation. One of their other teachers quit or something, so they needed the extra help."

"Plus, Louis started his new job last Monday," Liam continued. "He's been exhausted from the new routine; hasn't had time to do anything during the week. And he's had to help his mom with watching his sisters when she works, and she usually works weekends."

"So basically, it's been rough?" Jesy concluded.

Niall and Liam nodded.

"I understand that," Josh said, shooting a smile over at Niall. 

"Yeah, how have you guys been?" Jade wondered. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"No problem," Niall shrugged. "It's been okay. Tough, obviously, but good. We actually saw each other last Sunday. Went down near Taylor and just spent the day hanging out. Ate lunch, saw a movie, got dinner, walked the mall, went to the park. All the fun stuff."

"Aww," went the girls, cooing at the adorableness that was Niall and Josh. 

"Yup, straight out of a romance novel, we are," Josh grinned.

Niall licked his lips and shot a sly smirk back, because sometimes it really felt that way. 

He'd never seen himself as the type of guy who would have his personal life all sorted out before his 22nd birthday. But that's exactly who he was. When he was younger, he never had a serious relationship, never knowing quite what he was looking for. That was probably because of his serious case of denial in high school where he thought he was completely and totally straight. 

But that ended before he went to college. Just after graduation, he realized he was gay, and his ever-loving family had accepted it. He started at Taylor in the fall finally understanding what it was that he wanted in a relationship - another dick.

He joined the paper a few months into his first semester after sitting next to a sports writer at a soccer game. 

The writer was another freshman who clearly didn't know that much about soccer. Throughout the game, Niall helped him with the stats and sports lingo. Why the boy had volunteered to write a soccer article when he didn't understand the sport was beyond Niall, but he guessed he should thank that kid now. 

Because after that, now that Niall saw that he actually knew how to write a sports article, he joined the staff, and that's where he met Josh, one of the sports editors, along with another guy named Dan Richards. At first, he and Josh didn't really get along, since Josh viewed him as just another flaky, freshman writer. But once Niall submitted an amazing article about the basketball championship Taylor played in that year, they became friends. 

That year, Dan was graduating, so Niall was, obviously, picked to replace him. And the rest was history. 

Niall looked forward to working with Josh now that they were friends. Josh was excited to be working with Niall, too, it seemed, because when they were at an editor's party early in the semester, Josh kissed him.

And so began their up and down relationship. Niall didn't like to focus on it too much. He was more of an "in the moment" kind of guy. So all that mattered now was that he and Josh were together. And they were happy.

He was always so glad that he didn't quit the newspaper like he wanted to, and that he didn't listen to his friends when they said not to trust Josh with his heart again. 

Otherwise, they wouldn't be dating, and probably wouldn't even be friends, which Niall didn’t even want to think about. 

The point was, they were in a good place right now, despite being hours apart on a normal day. And Niall wouldn't change that for anything. 

\---

"Alright, we'll be there in ten minutes, give or take," Louis said, pulling off the highway and onto a side street.

"Ten minutes?" Harry asked curiously.

"Probably less, there's really not that much traffic today."

"Hmm..."

Louis didn't have to wait long to find out what that was for, because right then, Harry placed a hand on Louis' thigh.

He looked over to hear Harry start to hum, with a small smirk on his face.

"Harry?"

Instead of responding, he just slowly moved his hand up, up, up until he was cupping Louis. He started gently rubbing his palm over Louis' dick, moving quicker and rougher until Louis' bulge started to grow. 

"Haz," he said again, although this time it came out as more of a whisper.

When Harry was satisfied, he reached over and pulled down Louis' boxers and swim trunks, taking him in his hand. Harry started to massage Louis, all the while never taking his eyes away from the window.

Louis got to a red light and looked around outside. Thankfully, there weren't any other cars or pedestrians around, because suddenly, Harry was leaning over the center console.

He heard his own breath hitch as Harry licked a stripe along the underside of Louis' cock, and gave it small kitten licks before making his way back to the top. He placed a kiss to the tip and lapped up the precome that was already forming before taking Louis all the way into his mouth.

Of course, at that moment, the light turned green, and Louis hit the gas a little too hard, making the car slightly lurch forward.

Harry pulled off long enough to say, "Careful, baby."

Louis took a deep breath when Harry took him back into his mouth, and slowly pressed the gas pedal to safely cross through the intersection. 

Harry sped up his pace and Louis struggled to keep in his lane. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were starting to turn white, and as much as Louis would've loved to look down to see how his boyfriend's head is bobbing up and down on his dick, he somehow found the strength to keep his eyes on the road.

He let out a whimper when he felt his cock hit the back of Harry's throat and bit down on his lower lip.

He kept driving down the road, now in the right neighborhood. Louis heard his breath quicken, and even though he was a little louder than he would like to be, he just didn’t care right now. 

They were almost at the house now, and told Harry that, only to have the younger boy hollow out his cheeks and suck even harder. 

Louis was oddly aroused at the fact that he was now driving past people on their afternoon runs and houses where kids are watching Saturday television shows and here he was, his dick in his boyfriend's mouth while he was driving to a graduation party with all of their friends.

Louis moaned loudly when Harry did that swirly thing with his tongue as he sunk back down. One more stop sign, and then the house would be just up ahead on the left. He could make it. 

He was getting close; he could feel it. So that's, of course, when Harry took one hand and fondled Louis' balls, as well as sucking him down. 

Louis took one hand off the wheel and grabbed onto Harry's curls, pulling tightly on them. Harry moaned at the sudden contact, his hum sending vibrations down Louis' cock. 

The older boy was really struggling to hold on now, his eyes threatening to roll into the back of his head as he approached the stop sign. 

Two more bobs and Louis barely had time to warn Harry before he let out a huge groan, spilling down Harry's throat.

He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel as Harry sucked him through it, slowly letting him come down.

Then Harry sat up and neatly tucked Louis back into his shorts.

"I think it's your turn to go, Lou," Harry smirked from his seat.

Louis shot him an evil glare before hitting the gas pedal and pulling up to the house just thirty seconds later.

As soon as the car was in park, Louis flung himself at Harry and returned the favor of their first road head experience. When he was done, he grinned at their matching flushed appearances. 

"Now we have to go into this party and act totally normal in front of everyone when we just did that," he said.

Harry scoffed. "Come on, Lou, they all know what we were doing. At least, the basics of it. Our friends aren't idiots."

Louis shrugged, and once they were sure they were ready to go, they got out of the car and grabbed their stuff.

"Finally!"

"It's about time!"

The calls greeted them as Louis and Harry walked around to the backyard, finding everyone gathered around a patio table on the deck, eating hot dogs and hamburgers. 

"You guys get lost coming here?" Zayn asked with a knowing look on his face. 

Louis fake-laughed. "No, Harry came to my house this morning to surprise me, so we hung out for a little while on our own."

"Yeah, we haven't seen each other yet this summer, so we just wanted to catch up," Harry added.

"Sure, catch up." Niall grinned, and added an exaggerated wink. "If that's what you want to call it." 

\---

That night, as the party was drawing to a close, everyone started to get tired from the day of swimming, grilling and general lounging in the sun. The group gathered around the fire pit in the backyard.

The night air had a chill to it, and sitting in wet bathing suits wasn't keeping anyone warm.

"So how's everybody on the job search?" Louis asked the group.

"I'm waiting to hear back from an internship," Josh answered.

"From where?" Jesy asked.

"CSN. I called Sandy just before graduation and asked him about it. He said he put a good word in for me and then, he got me an interview."

They congratulated Josh on the achievement before he continued.

"I should know in about two weeks if I got it or not. Obviously, it's really competitive, but it's definitely a possibility. Sandy said not to worry, though. Some interns don't find out until July or August."

"I got an internship at a news magazine," Stan announced. "I start in September. It's nothing big, but I at least get to write news stuff."

"I wish I had your luck," Perrie pouted. "I've been applying to magazines and newspapers all over, and so far, nothing. Actually, I've been thinking about maybe going back to school, getting my Master's or something."

"That's a good idea," Harry said.

"If I don't find a job or something this year, I want to go next year. NYU has a great Magazine Writing program. It's an option."

"I haven't had much luck yet, either," Zayn said. "There aren't that many art galleries around here, so I started applying to some in Philly and New York, too. I might wind up moving."

"No, don't move too far away from me," Louis whined.

Zayn smiled. "It's only a possibility. Of course, nothing definite yet."

"What about you, Liam?" Niall wondered. "What's next for you?"

"Yes, Liam." Dani smiled. "Tell everyone what you'll be doing."

Dani's words sparked an even greater interest in Liam's answer.

"I um... Got a job at a newspaper in Pennsylvania. I found out yesterday," Liam replied.

"As what?" Leigh-Anne asked.

"A copy editor."

" _You_?" was the unanimous response from everybody. 

"Liam, copy editors have to read over stories and check for mistakes," Louis started.

"Yeah, and I did plenty of that over the past two years."

"Yeah, but you have to find spelling mistakes, too. You can't rely on the other copy editors to find them all the time."

"I'll be alright." Liam shrugged. 

Louis couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "Oh my God, Liam."

The group continued talking about their plans for the rest of the summer, relaxing as the flames in front of them slowly died out.

Louis looked around at his friends, so thankful to have each and every one of them in his life. It wasn't just any group of people that would get together and plot out a schedule to get two of their friends together. Finally. 

What made it even better was the fact that Louis nearly didn't attend Taylor. He almost had to stay at home and go to community college because of, what else, money. 

When Louis was sixteen, his parents got divorced. Well, his mom and stepdad Mark got divorced, but Louis always considered Mark to be his real father. He was the man who raised him after all.

Once the divorce was finalized, his family struggled. One mom and five kids didn't really equal out to a whole lot of extra spending money, even with Mark's child support payments and his mom working two jobs. 

All throughout high school, Louis was the soccer star. He was MVP his sophomore year, and was one of the co-captains by his junior year. That was his ticket to college. His way out. And it was all set. Until October of his senior year.

It was a big game against the school's rivals, and one aggressive midfielder wouldn't leave Louis alone; until he crashed into him when Louis had the ball and was looking to score.

That was it. His knee twisted the wrong way and he had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Even with rehab and recovery time, he wouldn't be able to play as well as he was, so scouts were no longer interested.

He saw his future crumbling in front of his eyes, but his mother refused to let him wallow in self-pity. She smacked him upside the head and told him to get his shit together and work for it.

So he did. Louis applied for what seemed like millions of scholarships, and won some money from writing competitions and journalism scholarships. Combined with money from the state due to his now single-parent status and student loans to cover the difference, Louis could finally go away to school. Like he always wanted. Sure, it wasn't the ideal way to go, but he did it.

His freshman year, he worked at the bookstore as part of his Work-Study, and he joined the newspaper almost immediately. And once he was an editor, he now had that paying job instead, which came with a small scholarship each semester on top of that.

And that was it. He found his group. He met Liam and Josh at one of the first meetings, and everyone else soon followed in their own time, including Harry, the beautiful boy cuddling next to him.

Louis didn’t know what he would be like if he didn't go to Taylor. He didn’t know if he still would've had an interest in journalism, either, but that's something he didn’t want to imagine.

He was a 22-year-old college graduate with an actual job, a loving boyfriend and supportive friends and family. Everything else was just  _What if?_

His past was over. He had his present all figured out. Now he was just waiting for his future. And if this past year was any indication of what was yet to come, well then, he couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! I'm in shock that this went on this long and that you guys stuck around til the end. Thank you so much!  
> Thank you for reading and leaving comments and leaving Kudos and bookmarking the story! I'm so happy with how it all turned out!  
> Monday Meetings has been a part of my life for more than five months now (scary!), and I'm going to miss these characters.  
> If you think that I won't go back and read this fic from time to time just to relive my fond feelings of it, you're totally wrong!  
> Anyway, check out my new fic! It's called [Branching Out](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1738277/chapters/3710309).  
> It's totally different from this one, just so you know.  
> Also, it seems like a bunch of you guys want a sequel, so here it is! [Wednesday Edits](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3243047/chapters/7066406)
> 
> If you want to talk to me for whatever reason, like tell me how much you love/hate the story or if I'm taking too long to post my new one and you want to tell me to hurry up, hit me up on [tumblr](http://www.flamboyantommo.tumblr.com) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/angelique_lee). If you follow me on either, let me know who you are so I definitely follow you back!


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